Drive Me Crazy
by TrippNessa
Summary: Rubbing his temples in frustration, chaos having once again erupted in the base, the Kaiser realized without a doubt that capturing Daisuke instead of the blond kid had been his first mistake… Daiken/Takari
1. An Ominous Prisoner

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 1: An Ominous Prisoner

Summary: Rubbing his temples in frustration, chaos having once again erupted in the base, the Kaiser realized without a doubt that capturing Daisuke instead of the blond kid had been his first mistake…

Pairings: Daisuke x Kaiser / Takeru x Hikari

Setting: AU Kaiser Saga; between episodes 17 and 18. Older Chosen in college, younger in high school.

Genre: Drama, Humor, Action, Romance

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Yaoi, Violence, Swearing, Sexual

Author's Note: A while ago I sat down and thought to myself, what would have happened if Ken had captured one of the kids? Well, I've read a lot of Daiken fics like that but almost all of them made Ken out to be extremely mentally disturbed, dark and creepy… and I just don't think he would have been that extreme. A huge jerk, sure, but not a psycho rapist. So after a lot of thought I came up with this story. It will be mostly Daisuke x Ken with slight Takeru x Hikari here and there. I will be using the Japanese character names, Digimon names, terms, attacks, etc. So if you don't know what something I mention is, just leave me a comment and I'll reply as soon as I can. Although if it's a Digimon you don't know, you can always put the name in Google Images and it'll show you pictures of it. Lastly, I always capitalize the word 'Digimon' because in science fiction novels alien races/species are always capitalized. I consider Digimon to be similar to aliens as far as grammar goes, they're just made out of data. Big thanks to my beta reader TeamAbodo!

Story Disclaimer: No profit was, or ever will be, gained from this fanfiction. It is a fan-made story based off the Digimon Adventure 02 world, which is owned by Toei, written by Reiko Yoshida, and directed by Hiroyuki Kakudou.

* * *

"Deadly Sting!" the cry of a Flymon echoed throughout the thick digital woods as it dove towards Pegasmon. The great winged horse jerked its wings viciously, barely managing to escape the attack in time. The Flymon looped around in the air and came charging back towards its enemy.

"Shooting Star!" Pegasmon quickly attacked the other Digimon before it could reach him, choosing his wide range burst of stars for a higher chance of hitting. His idea worked, and the Flymon went crashing into the trees below with a burst of leaves.

"We have to help Daisuke!" Takeru called out to his partner frantically from the horse's back, who began looking around and quickly spotted their friend. Daisuke was also riding on his Digimon, but they had become surrounded by five Flymon and weren't doing so well. The blond cursed as Fladramon was pinned to a tree by three of the Flymon, the others firing attack after attack at him. If only they hadn't split up with the others...

The group of kids had received a signal on their D-3s that appeared to be Ken, but in two different locations. They weren't sure which one was real, if either even were, and only had an hour or so before they'd have to go home. Miyako had suggested that they split up, and if any danger came around then they'd immediately call for help. Takeru and Patamon hadn't liked the idea in the first place, but because Iori, Daisuke and Miyako did, they'd overruled Hikari and his worries. Fearing there might be a fight between him and Daisuke over who got to be grouped up with Hikari, Iori decided to just make them go together. Unfortunately for the two boys, they'd been the ones to fall into the trap. Worse yet, with the jerky and sudden movements in Pegasmon's flying, Takeru couldn't afford to let go and pull out his D-Terminal to call the others. Daisuke seemed to be having the same problem as well.

"Careful Takeru, there's a lot of them!" the redhead called out to his friend over the sounds of battle.

"Daisuke, we need to get out of - Daisuke!" Takeru began saying, but cut himself off with a gasp when three more Flymon charged at them. The fiery Digimon hadn't noticed in time to stop them from grabbing him, lifting him up into the air and dropping him. Pegasmon tried to fly over to them and catch them, but he just wasn't fast enough.

A terrible thud rang out through the battle as they landed, Fladramon degenerating back into Chibimon and lying unconscious in the dirt. Daisuke cried out and arched his back in pain from beside his partner, blood staining the ground beneath him.

"Shit!" Takeru cursed loudly and his eyes widened. Pegasmon had almost reached them now, but the Flymon began charging. They knocked him around in the sky and stung him with their stingers, which appeared to have some kind of poison in them, as his Digimon was having difficulty moving now. Eventually he couldn't flap his wings fast enough to keep himself elevated anymore, and both he and his human partner plummeted to the ground. They were luckier than Daisuke and Fladramon though, having been lower to the ground and managing to land on the soft grass.

Pegasmon was too injured from the attacks to stop himself from degenerating back into Patamon and passing out. Takeru could feel a sharp pain rising in his right ankle and a massive pounding in his head, but even so he stood up. After picking up his partner he began limping as fast as he could over to the other boy. He felt his body grow pale at how still his friend had become. He seemed unconscious, or...

"NO!" Takeru shook his head and sped up his pace, refusing to believe the alternative. This was all his fault... if he'd just been more persistent in not splitting up, none of this would be happening! He should have just-!

"Poison Powder!"

Takeru gasped and threw his free hand over his mouth as a cloud of dust suddenly formed around them. He wasn't sure what exactly would happen if he breathed it in, but the name of the attack itself said more than enough.

Suddenly the sound of Daisuke coughing violently rang in Takeru's ears as he stumbled towards him. The rest of the Flymon had begun using their Poison Powder attacks as well, causing the cloud to become so thick that he could no longer see anything but brown.

"Daisuke, hold your breath!" Takeru called out blindly. "Listen to me! _Don't breathe in!_"

The blond frantically searched around where he thought his friend had been, trying to ignore the wrenching pain in his ankle and against the sides of his skull. The air burned his eyes and the ground was hard to walk on with his ankle hurting so much. A few more seconds passed and he couldn't hold his breath any longer. Pulling his shirt up over his nose, he breathed in as little as possible and held it again. He could quickly feel himself getting drowsy, but not enough to collapse.

Then there was the sound of laughter and a strong gust of wind blew the poison cloud away. Takeru couldn't support himself on his injured ankle anymore and fell to the ground. He realized that he was sitting right where Daisuke had been, the blood stains right by his hand. So where had his friend gone?

"Hello... Takeru was it?" an all too familiar voice sounded through the woods, sending a chill up the blond's spine.

"_Ken_," The boy spat viciously, glaring up at the Kaiser who was riding on an Airdramon above them. He had his usual smirk on his face, whip in his hand and an overall obnoxious aura about him. Wormmon appeared to be on the Airdramon with him, looking like he didn't really know what to do; quite the opposite of Ken. There was something else on the large dragon as well. Something with maroon-

"Daisuke!" Takeru gasped, which only made his enemy chuckle.

"Good observation skills," the sarcasm in Ken's voice enraged the boy on the ground. He tried to stand up and help his friend somehow, but the moment he straightened his leg a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him hard, and he fell back to the ground. This, of course, only made the tyrant laugh again. "That was quite skilled as well."

"Shut up!" Takeru yelled, clenching his fist. "Let Daisuke go!"

"Hmm," Ken's voice dripped with sarcasm, "that's a _nice_ thought." At that point his voice dropped to full seriousness. "But I don't believe you're in any position to be giving _me_ orders, _are_ you?"

"What are you going to do with him?" Takeru tried to stand up again but received the same outcome as before. He gritted his teeth with pain and glared up at the tyrant. "Use him as a hostage?"

"Oh you'd just love for me to spill my entire plan, wouldn't you?" Ken said dully, snapping his fingers and turning to one of his Flymon. "Make sure he passes out."

The Digimon that had just been given orders flew down towards Takeru and created another cloud of poison around the boy, who once again tried to hold his breath. It wasn't as thick this time and he could still see Ken. However, a few seconds later the tyrant reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a whistle. Takeru's prediction was correct and a high pitched ring was sent out throughout the woods, piercing into Takeru's skull painfully. All of the other Flymon, as well as the Airdramon that Ken and his new prisoner were on, rose higher up into the sky and began flying away.

"No Ken, stop!" Takeru called out, knowing deep down that it was futile. The throbbing in his head had reached all new heights and he was starting to see more spots around him, nausea setting into his stomach. "L-Let him go! ICHIJOUJI!" his words were ineffective though, and the Flymon that had been ordered to make him pass out simply hovered in the air next to him.

The blond boy slammed his fists on the ground in anger, his enemy now out of earshot. He began trying to crawl out of the cloud, Patamon still in his arms, but the Flymon only created more in the direction he was moving. The boy felt tears tug at his eyes as the rest of the world began to blur...

* * *

"We're almost there!" Miyako hollered out to her friends as they neared their destination. Hikari nodded from Nefertimon's back nearby, Iori and Armadimon riding with Holsmon and Miyako. The two flying Digimon began descending towards the ground as instructed. The area they were currently scouting appeared to be a small clearing in the middle of a thick forest, so they decided to try overlooking it from above first.

"Well here we are," Miyako said as they all landed on the ground. "I guess we should look around. There could be something here that isn't immediately visible. I'll send Daisuke and Takeru a message letting them know we made it."

"Right," the other two Chosen nodded as they began walking around the circle of grass and trees. However, after about ten minutes of careful inspection, nothing even remotely out of the ordinary was discovered by any of the three children or their Digimon.

Miyako frowned. She hadn't gotten any replies back from the other two boys yet and it was... odd. She had even sent a few messages asking them to reply with _something_ just so that she knew they'd received it, but still got nothing back. It wasn't like them, especially not Takeru. He had always been one of the most punctual and responsible of the group.

"Hmm..." Miyako trailed off and looked around a bit more. "Do you think we should head back? I haven't heard back from Takeru or Daisuke yet."

"They really haven't said anything?" Hikari asked, seeming to get nervous. "They promised they'd send you a message once they got to their location. It's been nearly twenty minutes since we left, surely they've found it by now..."

"Maybe they just forgot to tell us?" Iori suggested. "They probably would have said something if anything bad had happened."

"That doesn't make sense though," Holsmon frowned. "Why would we get Ken's D-3 signal in two different places and then have him not even show up in either? There hasn't appeared to be any kind of danger going on anywhere... it just doesn't make sense."

"Don't speak too soon," Nefertimon replied. "You never know where a trap could be. We may very well have just not found it yet."

"Well I think we should head back," Miyako turned to her friends. "This is the exact spot the signal was at and there's nothing here. No reactions on our D-3's, nothing's out of the ordinary... there's not much else to do."

"Yeah, I'm sure this whole thing was just a glitch anyway," Iori agreed with a nod. "Maybe Ken was here at some point and also where Daisuke and Takeru went, and for some reason the signal spot didn't go away until now."

"I guess..." Hikari trailed off. "I just feel like something's up."

"Well let's go back and see what they have to say," Miyako jumped up on her Digimon's back, the other two following her lead. Hikari was clearly on edge and she didn't want to make her hang around here anymore if she'd feel better checking up on the boys. So the Digimon lifted up into the air and the kids began flying back towards the meeting spot. Almost immediately Miyako got a bad feeling in her gut. No matter how many excuses she came up with, she still couldn't see a real reason why Takeru had ignored all of her messages.

Once they'd made it back her feeling got even worse; neither Daisuke nor Takeru were anywhere in sight.

"Weird..." Miyako trailed off, still hovering over the ground with Holsmon, Iori and Armadimon. At that point she quickly pulled out her D-3 and pulled up the map, panning out really far so she could see where the boys were. She then zoomed in on their current location, frowning a few seconds later.

"What's wrong Miyako?" Hikari asked, not seeming to like the look on the other girl's face. Miyako felt herself turn a bit pale.

"Well I see Takeru at the second signal location, so I guess they made it after all, but I don't see Daisuke anywhere. He's not there or anywhere nearby either... I _know_ they wouldn't have split up."

"Uh, maybe Daisuke went home to get something?" Armadimon said slowly, but clearly did not believe in his own words.

"I'm going," Hikari said suddenly and pulled out her D-3. She and Nefertimon took off towards Takeru's coordinates, the others quickly following after her. The flight was painful, seeming to take hours when in fact it only took about eight minutes. Miyako prayed that Takeru and Daisuke had just forgotten to check their messages. Maybe Daisuke really had gone back to the real world for something. It would be pretty irresponsible of him, but better than the alternative her heart was telling her.

"Hey, I think I see something!" Hikari called out, snapping the other girl out of her thoughts. She looked around and quickly spotted what her friend had been referring to. She had to squint to see it, but it kind of looked like...

Hikari and Miyako both gasped when they recognized the crumpled up body on the ground, Patamon lying next to him. The moment Nefertimon hit the ground Hikari leaped off and rushed as fast as she could over to him, the others not far behind her. Seeing Takeru up close caused a wave of nausea to rush through Miyako's stomach.

His head and ankle were horribly swollen and bleeding, dirt covering most of his body. His face was unnaturally pale and there were too many cuts, scrapes and bruises to count. It looked like he'd fallen from very high up or something. As for his Digimon, he was in an equally bad condition; bent wings, bruised body, swollen limbs, something that appeared to be a puncture wound and dirt smeared all over his face and appendages.

"Oh my god what happened?!" Miyako exclaimed as her eyes went wide and her hands covered her mouth, panic beginning to take over.

"Takeru! Takeru are you okay?! Takeru!" Hikari screamed hysterically as she knelt down next to him, tears flooding her eyes when she received no response from him or Patamon. She tried shaking his shoulder, not hard enough to cause further injury but enough to hopefully stir him. He didn't react to it at all though.

"I-I'll call Y-Yamato..." Iori said in a shaky voice as he pulled out his cell phone, the only one still trying to remain calm.

* * *

The first thing the boy noticed was how comfortable he was. The soft bedding made him drowsy, the warm blanket on top was extremely cozy, and the pillow he was lying on was soft and fluffy. This all, of course, made him want to curl up in a ball and go back to sleep.

However, it was then that he noticed what was keeping him from going back to sleep like he wanted to. He had yet to open his eyes, but he didn't need to in order to notice the bright fluorescent lights filling whichever room he was in and making it hard to drift back into unconsciousness. He figured he should probably open his eyes and find out where he was, unable to ignore the nagging feeling in his head that was telling him he wasn't in a good place. However, he really had to wonder how anywhere with a bed this soft could be all _that_ bad.

The boy continued to lie there for a bit, but eventually decided to play it safe for once and slowly lifted his eyelids. A few second later Daisuke decided that he was going to listen to his gut feelings from now on, no matter _what_.

"Oh god damn it..." the boy swore quietly to himself as he looked around the room of the Kaiser's base. The most noticeable thing was hands down the enormous flat screen on the wall directly opposite and in front of him. Under it was a strange square hole in the wall and a few buttons along the top of it. Daisuke had no idea what it was for though. To the right of the TV was a desk and lamp, as well as a bunch of candles and some matches along the top. To the left was a book shelf, which stood very tall but was not all that wide. There were probably about 100 books or so all together. However, the very center shelf didn't have anything on it for some reason.

Daisuke then looked to his left and along the same wall as the head of the bed, was a dresser and mirror over it. There was also a wall wrack with shoes and slippers. To his right was a small bedside table with a lamp and a drawer.

Curiosity overcame the redhead, and he reached over to his right and opened the drawer. He was quite surprised when he found his goggles inside, cracked and bent.

"_Oh_ I'm gonna fucking kill that bastard!" the tanned boy seethed as he cradled his precious possession, various forms of revenge forming in his mind. He decided to ignore the fact that he was more pissed about the small accessory being damaged than being held captive. Taichi had given that to him damn it!

A sigh left the boys lips as he placed the goggles back inside the drawer. It was then that he finally noticed himself. Flipping the blanket off he looked down and found a large white cloth had been wrapped around his torso, like a bandage. His left wrist was in a black, movement-restricting cast. He also wasn't wearing his Digital World clothes, but a pair of khaki cargo pants, no shirt, and black socks.

A thought occurred to the boy. If he was wearing different clothes, then did that mean Ken had changed him?

"Eww..." Daisuke glared down at his feet and crossed his arms, cringing when he nudged his wrist against his side. Deciding that sitting in bed wasn't going to be fun or accomplish anything good, he stood up and headed over to the mirror. His face appeared normal, though he had a small bandage on his cheek that he hadn't felt. Turning around he then looked at his back, eyes going wide. There appeared to be a very thick cotton wad, roughly the size of a hand towel, under the white cloth. Apparently it was his back that had been injured and not his chest.

"What the hell happened...?" Daisuke trailed off, horrified at what his skin might look like under that bandage now...

"A stick."

Daisuke gasped when a voice rang out in the room and spun around, looking around for the culprit. What he found was a large image of Ken sitting in a chair on the television screen. He appeared to be in a very large room full of machines and other screens, possibly a control room? He was also, of course, wearing his Kaiser outfit.

"What do you mean 'a stick'?" the redhead spat, glaring at the screen viciously.

"When you hit the ground a small stick punctured up into your back and nearly damaged your spine," Ken answered calmly. "I removed it, which is why you have that large bandage on your back. I highly suggest you leave it there if you don't want to bleed all over yourself. I'll have some Digimon go in there and change it every now and then for you. You also sprained your wrist, which is why you have that cast on. It should heal on its own, though I can't give you an estimate on how long. Aside from that, only some minor cuts and bruises. You can remove that bandage on your cheek now if you want."

"Yeah, act all nice if you want, _Ken__,_" Daisuke replied, making sure to emphasize the boy's name. "But don't think I've forgotten about how it was _your_ fault that I even have all of these fucking injuries in the first place!"

"Who says I'm acting nice?" Ken chuckled lightly. "You asked me a question and I answered, simple as that. If you think I seemed nice while doing so, well... that's your own business."

"So then just say it then," Daisuke crossed his arms defiantly. "What do you want with me?"

"Humor me," Ken said and tapped his chin a bit. "Why do you think you're here?"

"The typical reason," Daisuke replied, his voice just as rude in tone as ever before. "I'm a hostage and you're going to threaten my life to get the others to do your bidding."

"No," came the tyrant's simple reply.

"W-What?" Daisuke's arms unfolded in surprise.

"I said '_no_'," the sarcasm was thick in Ken's voice, a grin appearing on his lips.

"Yeah, I _heard_ you," Daisuke glared. "Fine then, you're going to torture me with weird chemicals and knives or something."

"As fun as that sounds, no," Ken chuckled, taking off his gloves and picking at his nails in mock boredom. Daisuke rolled his eyes at the obvious insult and sat down at the edge of the bed, a long sigh escaping his lips. What else did evil guys do with their prisoners? He said ransom was out, which made him pretty happy actually. Torture was also out, which made him even happier. So... all that was left was...

"HELL NO!" Daisuke suddenly stood up and yelled, his right index finger pointed accusingly at the screen. Although he had to unclench and relax his hand a few seconds later from the pain in his wrist. "You're so not doing that you sick fuck!" Ken, however, simply raised an eyebrow in question and appeared to not understand what the prisoner was going on about. "You keep your sick sexual fantasies away from me!" Daisuke was as blunt as ever.

Ken was silent for a few moments, and an awkward silence formed between them. The tyrant's eyebrows raised a little, and then he burst into laughter. By the time Daisuke had begun glaring at the screen the other boy had nearly fallen out of his chair.

"Don't be so ridiculous," Ken shook his head. "By now you should know that I don't see you as anything more than a disgusting gnat."

"Never thought I'd be happy to hear someone say that," Daisuke said dully, sitting back down on the bed. "Well then I have no idea why I'm here, so why don't you just tell me?"

"Let's see…" Ken said slowly, putting his glove back on now that he was done mocking the other boy. "You're here for... experimentation."

Daisuke must have visibly shown the discomfort brewing in his chest, for Ken began to laugh. The redhead just glared back, not sure of what to say.

"Though I can't deny..." Ken trailed off. "I'm a little surprised you haven't asked me in that, oh so characteristically rude voice of yours, where V-Mon is."

"You-!" the redhead gasped and jumped to his feet, once again glaring at the screen. Yeah, he was probably reacting exactly the way Ken wanted him to, but whatever. "What did you do to him?!"

"Don't worry," Ken began, still just as sarcastic as he ever was. "He's in a dungeon cell with a dark ring to keep him quiet."

"Bastard!" Daisuke growled. "Take that damned thing off him!"

"Umm, _no_, I actually don't think I will," the tyrant rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I've grown bored of this conversation and I really do need to be going now. I have lots of things to destroy after all. Just so you know though, there are two Gorimon outside your door as guards so I wouldn't suggest trying to escape. I have ordered them to make you wish you hadn't if you try to, after all.

If you need anything there's a remote for your television in the drawer by your bed. The blue button on it will page me, and I'm sure you can figure the rest of the controls out on your own. You can play video games, watch movies or TV, and listen to music with it. The desk has paper and pencils in the drawer, and the dresser has clothing that should fit you. Also the square hole in the wall is a replicator that will create food for you, and the bookshelf will create any books you want to read. Again, I imagine you can figure out how to use it all. Do what you want, and stay out of trouble."

And with that, the television screen went black. Daisuke glared at it for a few more minutes and then sighed, remembering that Ken had mentioned a remote being in the bedside table drawer. Sure enough, after checking it again he found that it was further back behind his goggles.

Why was Ken giving him all these nice things? Why hadn't he simply thrown him into a dungeon cell and called it good? The tyrant was clearly up to something.

"So uh..." Daisuke started as he walked over to the door and leaned against it. "Gorimon, you don't think you could bust me out of here do you?"

The boy jumped when there was a loud bang on the door, silence proceeding afterwards.

"I'll take that as a no then." the redhead walked over to the mirror and looked at himself once again. Well, things looked pretty bad now, that was for sure. There really wasn't any way to get out of the base on his own, and he wasn't about to leave V-Mon behind. Ken was really smart too and probably expected him to try and escape. His only option appeared to be waiting until the others could save him. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long, like _months _or something crazy.

The redhead glanced around the room a little bit and stopped when he reached the matches on the desk. His eyes traveled upward a few seconds later and stopped at the sprinkler, mouth slowly curling into a mischievous smile. A thought came to his mind.

'_Alright Ken... you want to play this way?' _Daisuke smirked wider and walked over to get the matches. _'If you're gonna keep me here against my will__,__ then I swear I will make you regret every moment of it.'_


	2. Experiments

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 2: Experiments

Author's Note: Thank you TeamAbodo for beta reading this chapter!

* * *

The sound of chirping was the first thing the boy recognized amongst all the other things in the room he barely realized he was in. The soft, yet piercing sound of birds singing outside shot through his throbbing head like lightning, and a wince formed on his face. He couldn't see them since his eyes were closed so thoroughly, but he could guess there were about three or so. He then, to his great pleasure, realized that he was lying on a very soft bed. This realization made his head feel a little bit better even though the birds were still making that horrid noise.

Noise... yes, there were other noises in the room now that he concentrated enough. Sounds like voices, ones that he recognized even. They appeared to be getting closer, a hand even placing itself on his shoulder. He couldn't tell how many there were exactly.

"... keru?"

Keru... that sounded a bit familiar, as did the voice that spoke the strange word.

"Takeru?"

Yes, that sounded much better. That was... his name.

"Takeru, can you hear me? Say something!"

"M-Mom?" the blond's quiet whisper floated around the room as he recognized the voice of the person calling to him now, memories slowly seeping into his mind. He didn't move as someone placed their hands on his own, calling for someone else to come over. He finally opened his eyes, wincing at the light filling the room. He kept trying though, and eventually he had them fully opened. Jyou, Yamato and his parents were standing next to his bed.

"Oh my god!" Mrs. Takaishi's eyes filled with tears as she hugged her son. "What happened to you?! They said you seemed to have fallen from very high up somewhere!"

"Um..." Takeru trailed off as he tried to think. What _had_ happened? He recalled the Digital World vaguely, and Ken. Yes, Ken had attacked them and... Daisuke...

Takeru felt his face fall at the memory of his friend's capture. Should he tell the truth about what had happened? His parents knew about the Digital World and all that, and could probably handle the real story just fine. They wouldn't like it of course, but that would be the case no matter what he told them. He didn't want to chance someone overhearing his conversation from elsewhere in the hospital though. He didn't know for sure that someone was around a corner, but just in case... "I'm sorry, but I don't really remember."

"That isn't necessary," Jyou said as he closed the door to his hospital room. "We're the only ones in here and no one outside the room can hear us. The doors are pretty well made here. Also the only cameras we keep in the hospital are in the hallways, not the actual rooms. So you can tell us what happened if you know, Takeru."

"Are you sure?" Takeru asked his friend in a very quiet voice.

"I had to pull a LOT strings to get appointed as your doctor instead of your regular one to help cover up what happened," a firm nod came from the Chosen doctor. "but it was all necessary. Your parents helped out a lot at least. If another doctor had been appointed then it would have been very difficult to hide everything. At any rate, I've been here long enough to know for sure that no one can hear us."

"I see," Takeru said, looking at his friend and family and then sighing. When he adjusted his body a bit he came to realize that his ankle was in a cast and sling, and his head had a large bandage wrapped around it. "Am I alright?"

"You'll be fine," Jyou smiled. "You've been here for three days now, so the injuries are healing nicely. You nearly broke your ankle but thankfully it only came out as a sprain."

Takeru blinked a few times, not sure how he felt about hearing he'd been unconscious for three days. It could have been a lot worse than that, he supposed.

"As for your head," Jyou continued. "You had a pretty bad concussion but it's healing. Other than that there's just some scrapes and bruises. All of this was caused from a fall...?" the young doctor trailed off at the end of his sentence, obviously hoping for an explanation from the Child of Hope.

The blond nodded, more comfortable with talking about it now. "Basically," he began, "we were in the Digital World investigating these two signals we found and ended up splitting up to save time. Daisuke and I went together to check out one of the locations, and we got attacked by the Kaiser." Takeru turned to his parents, knowing they didn't know who that was. "He's the new bad guy; Ichijouji Ken."

"What?!" his mother gasped. "That sweet boy from the television? Seriously?"

"Yes," Yamato nodded simply, face very serious. "He's been capturing and torturing Digimon, and making them his slaves to take over the Digital World with."

"That's terrible..." their father shook his head sadly. "So that's why he went missing... but he seemed like such a good kid!"

"At any rate," Takeru changed the subject, not wanting to think about Ken more than he already had to. "We all got surrounded and knocked to the ground, and that's how I got injured. I tried to help Daisuke but I couldn't reach him because of the _damned_ poison powder." His fists clenched just thinking about it, though he continued talking nonetheless. "One of the Flymon put me to sleep with it so I don't really know anything that happened afterwards."

"What about Daisuke?" Yamato asked cautiously, appearing to have already guessed the answer. "What happened to him?"

"Ken... captured him..." Takeru's grip with his fists tightened even more. "It was the last thing I remember seeing; Ken flying off with him."

"Damn it..." Yamato seethed, glaring down at the floor. Their parents looked at each other, seeming to say something unspoken to one another with their eyes alone.

"Takeru..." his mother trailed off a few seconds later.

"What?" the blond asked, worried about her tone of voice.

"Daisuke has been on the news for a few days now as a missing person, after his parents reported that he never came home from school on Friday," his mother's voice was tired, as though just thinking about the topic was stressful. "Now there are rumors going around that you were involved in his disappearance. I mean, you were found 'injured and unconscious in a park' around the same time he went missing, you're his good friend, and someone from your school had heard that you were going to hang out with him later that day... so everyone thinks you were both attacked on your way home or something. People are probably going to ask you questions."

"Just insist that you don't remember anything that happened between Friday and now," his father said when he saw the upset look on Takeru's face. "Don't give them any information, not even something you think is fine to say."

"Yeah," Yamato nodded in agreement. "We'll tell the others what really happened, but the public needs to think you don't know. It's not like anyone would believe the truth even if we _did_ just blurt it out."

"Right..." Takeru trailed off. His father wasn't a reporter anymore but had been in the past, and his mother still was, so he believed what they told him. Still, he felt on edge. He knew this really wasn't all his fault, but even so he still felt extremely guilty. He should have just persisted about not splitting up... Daisuke's parents must be so worried.

'_We'll get you out of there,'_ the blond thought sadly to himself.

"Hey bro," Yamato spoke suddenly, bringing the bed-ridden boy out of his thoughts. "Hikari's been pretty worried. They wouldn't let her in because they only wanted family around when you first woke up, but now that you have, you should call her or something before she has a panic attack."

"Alright," Takeru smiled. "I'll do that."

* * *

The sound of keys clicking on a keyboard echoed around the metal walls of the otherwise quiet base. The silence was eerie, even with Ken's typing nearby, and it all sent chills down Wormmon's back. The tyrant himself was complete with his usual spiked blue hair, emperor outfit, large glasses, whip and egotistical smirk.

The Digimon sighed as the boy chuckled lightly to himself, working diligently on his project. From what the small insect understood, it was a special dark ring that would work on Humans. He'd heard Ken-chan talk about it a few times but he never knew what to think. Of course he didn't like that he was making it, but what could he do? His partner would be working even harder on it now that he'd captured Daisuke as a guinea pig for the experiment.

Wormmon knew there was another project the tyrant was working on, but it was to be completed only after the new ring was done. Ken hadn't spoken a word about it to Wormmon, as was to be expected. He only knew what he did because of his own observations. This made the Digimon both happy and sad; happy not to know what other horrible things his once best friend was planning on doing, but sad that Ken-chan never talked to him about anything anymore.

The Digimon's thoughts were cut off as a loud ringing sounded echoed through the control room and water began spraying down on them from the sprinklers above. The Kaiser immediately pressed the off switch on his programs, many screens closing and disappearing.

"Why the hell are the fire sprinklers going off?!" Ken exclaimed, obviously expecting Wormmon to answer the question somehow.

"I don't know master, but I'll go see if I can find out what's going on," Wormmon said and quickly scurried off into the hallway.

'_This is my chance!'_ Wormmon thought frantically, running past other Digimon as they hurried down the hallways to find the location of the fire. Ken's angry yells boomed from the loudspeakers. Now that there was enough chaos going on though...

He'd been planning on doing this ever since he'd gotten word that one of the Chosen had been captured. He knew it was risky, but he had to do something to set the child free. He didn't normally sabotage Ken's work like this, but the Chosen were the only ones that could save Ken from his own mind, and he couldn't let one of them get turned into a slave. It might not be possible to bring Ken back if that happened! He wished that he could save his partner on his own, but he had so little power... nothing compared to the Chosen. They were strong, and would be able to do the things he couldn't.

Wormmon hurried as fast as he could down the metal hallways, dodging Digimon left and right. There was a massive amount of chaos and confusion as the other Digimon in the base tried to fix the problem before the Kaiser unleashed his wrath upon them all. Not that it would really accomplish much in the end, as Ken would probably still punish them.

Wormmon turned a corner, reaching the dungeons in pretty good time. Under normal circumstances there would have been guards watching, but with the sprinklers going off, no one's attention was on him. So once he found the cell that the blue Digimon was in, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Hold still, I'm making sure there's no water damage to your ring," Wormmon lied to the slave. He then quickly and silently fiddled with the device until it shut off. He did not remove it though.

"W... Wormmon?" V-Mon asked slowly, still disoriented.

"Shh, don't talk too loud!" the insect hissed urgently at the other Digimon. "I deactivated the ring but didn't remove it. This way you can leave the dungeons without being suspected."

"Oh..." the blue Digimon trailed off, confused. "But why? Aren't you Ken's slave too?"

"Not exactly," Wormmon sighed, not wanting to talk about that whole ordeal. "Look, I need you to get Daisuke out of here. Do whatever you can, just make sure you both escape, alright?"

"O-Okay!" V-Mon nodded, appearing to have snapped out of his daze now. "But... I still don't understand why you'd help Ken and then suddenly set me free! You're obviously not evil too, so it doesn't really add up."

"I can't explain here," Wormmon whispered quietly. He had to get out of there right away before he was spotted. "Just... please, I can't help you anymore after this; you're on your own. I'm sorry that I can't tell you more, but just get yourself and the boy out of here as fast as you can. It's... it's the only way for Ken to be saved."

"H-Hey, wait!" V-Mon called out as Wormmon turned around and scurried from the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

* * *

V-Mon frowned in confusion after Wormmon had left the room. What had he meant by all of that? Defeating Ken was the only way for him to be saved? Oh well, whatever. He had the chance to get out and he sure as hell wasn't going to waste it. Doing things alone was going to be hard though, since he didn't know where anything-

V-Mon stopped in his tracks, an idea popping into his head. He looked around the dungeon to make sure no one was looking, and was happy to find everyone too busy with their own problems to pay any attention to a small blue Digimon inside his cell. As silently as he could be, he hurried over to where the guard usually stood and snatched his key ring off the wall. Then he quietly slipped into the nearest cell. The Digimon that occupied it, which V-Mon now saw was a Ryuudamon, immediately gave him a suspicious look.

"Just making sure your ring isn't water damaged; Ken's orders," V-Mon quickly copied Wormmon's fake excuse and the other dragon relaxed. It took a lot more fiddling around for him to figure it out, but after a while he'd managed to do something that powered off the ring.

"W-What...?" Ryuudamon blinked, looking around the dungeon in confusion. "I'm... in the Kaiser's base...? That's right, I got captured..." Then his eyes turned to V-Mon and he gasped, "so that means you're a...!"

"Calm down, I'm not a slave!" V-Mon assured the other Digimon, arms up in surrender.

"Then who are you?" the yellow dragon lowered its eyes at the blue one in suspicion. "You have a dark ring on you!"

"It's deactivated like yours. I was wondering though..." V-Mon trailed off, unable to hide the mischievous smirk forming on his face. "What would you say to a little... revenge?"

* * *

"I'll ask you one more time, and I'll even be _nice_ about it," Ken gritted his teeth, anger dripping from his voice. As overwhelmingly furious as he was, it was amazing that he was even able to hold back screaming every word that came out of his mouth. "_Where, is, the fire_?"

"W-We haven't detected any f-fires sir..." a very scared Kiwimon trailed off, already wincing in anticipation of what the Kaiser was going to do.

"THEN WHY THE HELL ARE THE SPRINKLERS STILL GOING OFF?!" Ken shouted at the top of his lungs, eyes flashing with fury. Well that didn't last long... "Do you have _any idea_ just how much damage all this water is causing? This is the only room in the entire base with a shut-off valve for the sprinklers, which is going to be changed _very soon,_ I might add, and you're trying to tell me that there _aren't any fires_?!"

"Th-The sprinklers should be shut off very quickly s-sir..." the Kiwimon said meekly, looking down at her feet. "W-We've sent a Digimon into the emergency power room to turn them off. As for the cause, w-we did manage to pinpoint the sprinkler that was set off f-first, which set off the rest..."

"_Where_?!" Ken took a step forward this time, causing the Digimon to take a few steps back in fear.

"D-Daisuke's room...!"

Ken's body froze, voice growing completely silent. The Kiwimon didn't seem to know what to do or say, so she just stood still and waited instead. A few more seconds of silence passed, then...

"What...?" Ken asked in a low, angry voice as he clenched his fists and glared down at the poor messenger Digimon. Daisuke... of fucking _course_ it was him. That wretched little shit hadn't even been in the base for more than a day and already he was pulling pranks.

"T-The first s-sprinkler that was s-set off was in Daisuke's room, s-so that's probably where the f-fire came from-"

The Digimon was cut off as Ken spun around on his heel and stormed out of the control room, boots clanking loudly along the hallway. It wouldn't normally have taken him long to reach the other boy's room, but with all the Digimon running about chaotically in the base, he wasn't able to get there as fast as he would have liked. He'd have to punish them later for getting in the way.

After much sidetracking and shoving, stepping on Digimon, yelling at them to move the hell out of his way, he finally reached the prisoner's room.

"_Motomiya_!" Ken growled, throwing the door open with a loud bang. The other boy jumped at the sudden sound and spun around to face the door.

"Oh, hey Ken," Daisuke rolled his eyes, sitting back down on the bed.

"Explain, now," Ken crossed his arms angrily, waiting for a response from the redhead and ignoring the fact that he'd once again been addressed by his real name instead of by 'Kaiser'.

"Explain what?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow in confusion, though Ken didn't believe it for a second.

"As if you don't know," The tyrant glared, slamming the door shut behind him. He wasn't going to play these dumb games, especially not with a dumb prisoner. "How did you set off your sprinkler? The whole base is now drenched in water and there weren't even any fires to have caused it. According to my stupid messenger, your sprinkler went off first and that set the rest of them off!"

"Well if your messenger is stupid then why do you believe him?" Daisuke questioned innocently, tilting his head to the side. Ken was thrown off by the remark. He had not predicted such a response, and it had come to the other boy so quickly. Shaking his head, he managed to regain his composure.

"Because you are by _NO_ means any more intelligent than she is, so don't give me any excuses!" Ken crossed his arms in frustration. No more of this stupidity. "I know you did it, so just tell me what you-!" the tyrant suddenly stopped, eyes having crossed over to the candles and matches. He growled angrily and stomped over to the desk, grabbing the fire starters and shoving them in his pocket. Oh that little... "Did you think I wasn't going to find out?"

"Eh, it was worth a shot, right?" Daisuke smirked, picking at his nails in the same mock boredom that the tyrant had displayed before. This only pissed Ken off more.

"Gorimon!" the Kaiser exclaimed, the guards walking into the room immediately. Daisuke looked up at Ken with a questioning expression. "Bring him with me to the control room."

"What? Why?" Daisuke demanded as the guards walked over to him and grabbed his arms, pulling him out of the room and following after their master.

* * *

The four of them marched down the now calmer hallways, sprinklers having been shut off finally. Daisuke was disappointed to discover that it didn't take very long to reach the control room. He'd wiggled around in a vain attempt to escape along the way, but of course failed. Not that he wasn't going to try though. Just giving in like a bitch wasn't how he operated.

The two boys and guards entered the control room and Daisuke was thrown to the floor painfully, knocking his sprained wrist on the metal.

"Fuck..." the redhead swore as pain shot up his arm. "What the hell Ken?! It was just a little water-"

"You have two options," Ken interrupted him, ignoring what he was going to say entirely. "You can either help me with my experiments or you can refuse, in which case I will order V-Mon to attack you. It would be quite entertaining, really. Or I could just destroy him instead, if you piss me off enough. So I'd suggest making the correct decision."

Daisuke glared furiously at the other boy as he rose to his feet again. Sparks flew between them for a few minutes while the redhead weighed the options. Ken was a sadistic bastard and he had no doubt in his mind that he really would order his own Digimon to attack him, nor did he doubt that he'd hurt V-Mon somehow in the process. He didn't like the idea of helping him with whatever sick experiments he had planned, but what else could he do? If he said no then either V-Mon or he himself would end up hurt, and he'd probably _still_ end up helping in the end.

"_Fine_," the redhead spat, crossing his arms with a sigh. "I don't know what kind of sick shit you have planned Ken, but don't expect me to submit to it. This is _only_ for V-Mon."

"Whatever," Ken rolled his eyes and nodded to the Gorimon. The Digimon walked over to the prisoner and sat him down in a chair, strapping his wrists to the chair's arms and his ankles to the chair's legs. Daisuke didn't like this. It felt like some kind of electric torture device.

Ken then snapped his fingers at the Gorimon and they left the room, giving them the privacy their master had ordered.

"The experiment is very simple," Ken said as he pulled a dark ring out of a drawer under one of his keyboards. "I'm working on rings that will work on humans, and you're going to be my guinea pig."

Daisuke's eyes went wide for only a second, as his expression immediately turned into a glare. So that was his plan, was it? The electric chair was starting to sound more pleasant. At least it didn't mean he'd be the Kaiser's willing little bitch!

Ken walked over to him, ring in hand. When he reached Daisuke he smirked and pressed a button on the ring, ignoring the redhead's futile attempts to wiggle out of the chair. After he'd activated it he snapped it onto the boy's neck, who had clenched his eyes shut in anticipation. A few seconds of silence went by and the prisoner let his eyelids loosen, and then open. He blinked a few times and then looked up.

"You know Ken, it might have actually had the opposite effect," Daisuke said in fake amazement when he realized that nothing had happened to him. "I'm finding myself wanting to kick your ass a lot more than I did before!"

"Oh your sarcasm is _sure_ appreciated," Ken said in a dull voice, unclasping the ring. "Hmm..." the tyrant frowned, walking over to a computer and setting the ring down on a counter. He then began fiddling with codes or something; Daisuke really couldn't tell from the angle he was at. Not that he would have been able to understand what any of it said even if he could see it fully.

It was then that the prisoner noticed movement in the corner of his eye. He looked towards it and saw a small, blue creature walking silently in the shadows on the other side of the room. He squinted hard, and after a few seconds he recognized the creature as none other than V-Mon.

Daisuke felt his body freeze up with anticipation, but quickly forced it back to normal. He had no idea what his partner was up to, but he didn't want to ruin it by displaying suspicious body language. He quickly looked back at Ken, who was still messing around with the ring. Seriously though, how had V-Mon gotten in there? He seemed to have a dark ring on his neck as Ken had said, but he sure wasn't acting like a slave...

The redhead felt a little uneasy when his partner slowly tiptoed out from the shadows and crawled over to Ken's computer-chair styled throne. What the hell was he doing? He was going to get caught for sure!

Daisuke coughed loudly and got the Digimon's attention, Ken not acknowledging him in the slightest, just as he'd expected. He made a '_what the hell are you doing?!_' look, but his partner ignored him. Instead he crawled under the chair and stood up, quickly carrying the piece of furniture away and out through the smaller back door of the room. Daisuke just stared in shock after the creature, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Okay, let's see..." Ken trailed off in thought as he picked the ring back up, Daisuke trying his best to look natural again. He settled on looking bored, as seeming angry was too hard for him while he was already trying desperately not to laugh. The tyrant then backed up a little and began to sit, expecting his chair to be there. As the tyrant fell straight on his ass, the ring rolling across the room, Daisuke finally let the laughter burst from his throat in a fit of giggles.

"H-How did you do that?!" Ken exclaimed as he stood up furiously, picking up the ring and then storming over to Daisuke. The redhead was even more pleased to see the tyrant blushing a little bit in embarrassment.

"Um..." the prisoner trailed off, still laughing and trying futilely to stop. "I'm fucking amazing?"

"Yeah, we'll see how _fucking amazing_ you are when you're hanging fifty feet in the air from your _toes_!" Ken seethed, shoving the ring onto the boy's neck. Daisuke cringed as the metal scarped his neck, his body going limp and his head hanging down. He stayed like that for a few seconds and then he slowly lifted his head up, looking at Ken.

"Yes master?" the redhead said without emotion. Ken froze for a second or two, inspecting the sight before him. When he realized the ring had worked, he began to smirk. But then...

"Nah, I was just messing with you!" Daisuke cracked up suddenly, unable to keep faking it anymore. Oh well, he never claimed to be an actor anyway.

Ken wrenched the ring off his neck painfully and stormed over to the computer with a growl. He threw the ring onto the counter and then snapped his finger loudly. The two Gorimon came back into the room and waited for their master's orders.

"Take the little shit back to his room," Ken seethed and glared at the prisoner. Daisuke continued to laugh as the guards unstrapped him and dragged him over to the main door of the control room. "Oh, and one more thing," Ken added quickly before they'd left the room, "Find my fucking chair!"

* * *

Ken sighed and turned off the monitor in front of him, leaning back into his newly found throne. How it had ended up in the kitchen, he had no idea. The first thing he'd done was check the control room's security camera, but it had been so damaged from the sprinklers that he couldn't make anything out of it. He'd assumed it was Daisuke at first, but now he knew it couldn't have been him. There was just no way the boy could have moved the chair that far while strapped down. That meant he had to have had help from someone, but who? Wormmon? Nah, he wasn't tall enough to move chairs. He'd thought it was V-Mon after that, but the guards told him he'd been in his cell all day, so it looked as though the blue Digimon hadn't done it either.

It just didn't make sense. Who else would do something so... _stupid_? He knew it had been in there when he and Daisuke had entered...

Ken groaned in frustration. Maybe he'd been wrong about it having even been there at all. Maybe a Digimon had moved it to get it away from the water or something, and he just hadn't noticed its disappearance until he tried to sit down.

_'Or who fucking cares_?!' Ken seethed inwardly at himself. It wasn't worth getting stressed out over a god damned chair! The real issue was the dark ring and its failures!

"Why didn't it work?" Ken wondered out loud, glancing over at the ring still lying on the counter. He could have sworn everything was programmed correctly, but it looked as though he was wrong somehow. He'd deal with it tomorrow though. He was tired and really needed to get some sleep before he got pissed off. _More_ pissed off.

Ken stood up and walked out of the control room, shutting the lights off behind him. After that he made his way towards his bedroom, which he had purposely put right next to the control room. He'd put a kitchen not too far down the same hallway and a bathroom in his bedroom, so that he'd have everything he needed all on the same floor.

Once he was in his room he shut and locked the door behind him. He was incredibly exhausted and ready to go to sleep, so he removed his uniform.

When he'd first come to the Digital World, the tyrant had assumed it would take a long time to undress himself, considering all the things he had on. However, it was actually quite the opposite of that. For whatever reason, all he had to do was not want the uniform on anymore and he'd be back in the clothes he'd entered the Digital World in, which were much easier to change out of. When that happened his hair went back to normal as well, and he no longer had the glasses or whip. Ken was still working on figuring out why he was able to do that, exactly.

The boy, now dressed in his school uniform, removed the easier clothing and changed into simple blue pajamas. Then he walked over to his bed and crawled into it, pulling the blanket up over his body. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling, still thinking about the failed ring. Then he shook his head and turned over onto his side to go to sleep.

A few minutes passed, the tyrant slowly drifting towards unconsciousness. The base was quiet now that it was night time, most of the Digimon having gone to sleep. Wormmon usually stayed up later than everyone else for whatever ridiculous reasons he had. His thoughts became hazy then, as sleep overcame his mind more and more. They were just solid enough that he might be able to remember the general idea when he woke up, but no actual details.

Suddenly there was a loud and very familiar ringing sound shrieking throughout the base. Ken's eyes shot open, his heart racing in his chest and his head hurting a bit from the noise. Cold wetness seeped through the bedding and onto his body, soaking his pajamas thoroughly as water sprayed about the room from the sprinkler above.

The boy sat up slowly, hair now flattened and clinging to his dripping face. Messages began pouring through the speakers in his room as Digimon tried to frantically tell him about the sprinklers having gone off again, as though he needed to be informed.

Ken knew one thing for absolute certain now; that boy was going to be a lot more trouble than he'd expected.


	3. Hit Me

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 3: Hit Me

Author's Note: Thank you TeamAbodo for beta reading this chapter!

* * *

The sound of three teenagers crashing to the ground in a tangled heap of limbs echoed throughout the forest, birds flying away in surprise from the treetops. They quickly got up and moved away from a small television lying motionless on the ground beside them. A few seconds passed and another teen came through the electrical box, this one on crutches. The others helped him keep his balance as he landed, slightly dazed from the travel.

"Alright then..." Miyako trailed off as she glanced down at her D-3, quickly finding where they were on the map. "I think we're in the right area. This is where Koushiro told us to go anyway." The others nodded and pulled out their D-3s as well.

"Hey guys!" the familiar voice of Armadimon suddenly came from behind the group as he and the three other Digimon ran up to their partners. "Just in time, we think we might have found Ken's base on our way here to meet up with you!"

"Then you'd better hurry," Takeru said and turned to point his Digivice at Patamon, who's body began to glow and enlarge. A few seconds later he was a great orange and yellow armored horse with wings. Pegasmon nodded and Takeru turned back towards the girl standing next to him. "Let me know if anything happens, okay?"

"Of course," Hikari smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Go rest now."

"Right," the boy smiled and turned towards the Television to transport back through, where Taichi and Yamato would be there to catch him. Of course he'd wanted to stay and help them in their upcoming search and probable battle, but he wasn't in any condition to be doing so. Hikari made him promise to stay home and rest, but also accepted his proposal of letting him come through and evolve Patamon so they'd have one more Digimon to help out. He'd immediately go back home afterwards with Yamato and they'd let him know what happened once they returned. It also worked out that since Iori had no way of flying, he and Armadimon could ride on Pegasmon for the time being.

"Alright, let's get going!" Armadimon cheered and the group set off into the digital woods towards whatever it was that the Digimon had found. Miyako hoped it was the base as he'd thought it was, so they could get Daisuke out of there quickly.

The forest was quiet that day, birds chirping every now and then in the thick green trees above. Rays of sunlight shone down through the branches and onto the exploring young adults and their Digimon partners. There was a nice breeze blowing by as well, making the daytime heat feel more like a cool mid-day. If one were to listen carefully, they might even be able to hear the running water of a waterfall off in the distance. Indeed, it seemed as though nothing could ruin such a wonderful day.

"Well if it isn't the Chosen Rats."

Fate, however, was optimistic enough to make _anything_ possible.

"_Ken_," Iori glared at the obvious hologram in front of him, fists clenching at his sides. The tyrant appeared to be standing directly in front of them, having suddenly appeared on the wooded path mere seconds ago. However, the transparency of his body made it obvious that he was not actually there.

"What have you done with Daisuke?!" Miyako demanded, hand on her D-3 in anticipation. She didn't know whether the tyrant intended to attack them with some nearby hidden Digimon or something, but just in case, she was ready.

"Your dear friend is currently playing video games in his room," Ken crossed his arms in front of his chest with bored eyes.

"V-Video games…?" Hikari trailed off in confusion, and Miyako found herself feeling the same way.

"Believe it or not," Ken began, slight smirk on his face. "I'm not _completely_ horrible."

"Your actions say otherwise!" Iori spat, more anger in his eyes and voice than the other two kids.

"My _actions__,_" Ken replied, voice and eyes laced with ice. "Are _my_ business alone, you retched _fool_. The only reason I gave your idiot leader such luxuries are so he'll stay out of my... way." The three kids noticed Ken twitch a little at the end of his sentence, as though something about his plan wasn't working quite so well, but they chose to ignore it. "And you really should start learning to do so yourselves."

"You can say whatever you want Ken," Hikari stepped forward before Iori said something to further provoke the tyrant. "But we're just trying to protect this world from the harm _you're _cause it. That's the only reason we fight; you give us no choice."

"Oh don't even start," Ken rolled his eyes in exasperation, arms falling limp at his sides. "You think your touching words and 'inner light' is going to heal my 'broken soul' or some shit like that? Get over it, things don't work like that in real life."

"Then let's cut the crap," Miyako scoffed, tired of all this back and forth that wasn't even going anywhere. "What do you want?"

"I _want_ you to leave," Ken sighed as though it should be obvious, eyes narrowing onto her now. "Which you honestly should just assume at this point since it's the _only_ thing I've ever asked of you people."

"You have no right to ask us to leave!" Hikari exclaimed, obviously frustrated. "We've explained this so many times but you never listen. This isn't a place you can just-"

"I can do _whatever _I want," Ken glared viciously at the brunette girl as he interrupted her. "And your endless bitching won't make that-"

_"Oh baby__,__ baby__,__"_ Ken's harsh words were suddenly cut off by the sudden sound of a piano, followed immediately by the voice of Britney Spears. _"Oh baby__,__ baby. Oh baby__,__ baby__,__ how was I supposed to know__,__ that something wasn't right here?"_

The three Chosen stood frozen in place, confused as to where the song was coming from. Their enemy, however, began clenching his fists tightly, eyes having gone wide for a few seconds but were now narrowed with fury.

_"Oh baby__,__ I shouldn't have let you go__,__ and now you're out of sight yeah."_

"He didn't..." The tyrant hissed with rage, nails digging into his palm even with the gloves on.

_"Show me how you want it to be."_

"WORMMON!" Ken yelled at the top of his lungs, the small Digimon suddenly crawling into view of the hologram.

_"Tell me baby__,__ 'cause I need to know now oh because."_

"WHY IS BRITNEY SPEARS PLAYING IN MY BASE?!" Ken hollered, the Digimon cowering in fear. Wormmon may have replied then, but Miyako couldn't hear it over her own fit of loud laughter. Ken glared at her, eyes nearly sparking with frustration. It only made it worse when even Iori began laughing just a few seconds after that. Hearing Mr. Serious Hida Iori cracking up just made Miyako laugh even more.

_"My loneliness is killing me__,__ and I__,__ I must confess I still believe. Still believe!"_

"I-I'm sorry master…" Wormmon trailed off meekly, making a point of being louder with all the laughter going on. "I don't know where it's coming from."

_"When I'm not with you I lose my mind__,__ give me a sign."_

"_Motomiya_," Ken spat, voice dripping like molten lead.

_"Hit me baby one more time!"_

The hologram was shut off suddenly, woods now filled with only the sounds of laughter coming from all three of the teenagers, including Hikari now.

* * *

"I'm going to kill him," Ken seethed as he stomped quickly down the hallway, Digimon rushing out of the way at the sight of his anger.

_"Oh pretty baby__,__ there's nothing that I wouldn't do. It's not the way I planned it."_

The tyrant turned a corner and shoved a large Digimon out of his way, though he hadn't been paying enough attention to know what it even was. He didn't much care either, and shoved another Digimon out of his way, this one falling straight to the floor and dropping all of its cleaning supplies.

The Kaiser continued down his path of destruction, feet echoing all around him and bouncing off the metal walls nearby. His cape flowed fiercely behind him, whip clutched tightly with his right hand. The amount of rage stirring from within his chest was making it hard to think about anything other than strangling his prisoner.

_"Show me how you want it to be. Tell me baby 'cause I need to know now__,__ oh because."_

The Kaiser finally reached the hallway leading to the redhead's room, his guards laughing to one another in front of the door, mostly likely about the horrific noises playing over the speakers.

_"My loneliness is killing me__,__ and I__,__ I must confess. I still believe. Still believe!"_

"MOVE!" Ken yelled at the top if his lungs and both of the guards immediately jumped out of the way in surprise, eyes wide. They cleared their throats and stood up straighter, as though they were _now _going to do their actual job and not just _fuck around_.

_"When I'm not with you I lose my mind. Give me a sign__,__ hit me baby one more time!"_

The door to the prisoner's room suddenly burst open, bouncing off the wall behind it and nearly smacking the Kaiser in the face. He shoved it out of his way though, and slammed it closed behind him. The moment the door had opened the music stopped playing in the base.

"_MOTOMIYA_!" Ken exclaimed furiously as he uncoiled his whip, letting it fall to the ground while his hand held the handle firmly. The maroon haired boy was startled quite a bit, nearly falling out of the desk chair he was sitting in.

"Fuck, Ken, calm down!" Daisuke exclaimed as he stood up quickly.

"Be quiet!" Ken yelled. "How did you do get this horrid… _NOISE_ playing over my speakers?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daisuke crossed his arms defiantly.

"As if I'm going to believe that!" Ken stepped towards his prisoner. "You set the sprinklers off _TWICE_ and you think I'm going to believe that you didn't do this too?!" This was just... why was he having to deal with this right now? He had so many things he needed to be working on, not be screaming at his prisoners!

"Well, I don't know how the music started playing," the redhead shrugged, his tone quite suspicious. "Honestly, you're just as stubborn as me so there's no point trying to convince you."

"Your voice tells me you're lying, and why did the music go dead the moment I walked into the room?" Ken stepped closer, arm raising a little to get ready to strike the other boy with his weapon. "You don't fool me Motomiya. You knew I was talking to your friends over the hologram didn't you? That's why you chose _now_ to play it!"

"You... were talking to them...?" Daisuke trailed off, eyebrows raising in a far more sincere expression of surprise this time. Ken, however, was not amused at all when the redhead burst into laughter a few seconds later. Ken flicked his wrist and sent the whip at the other boy. Daisuke ducked the second he saw his enemy's hand move and grabbed his wrists. "You seriously need to loosen up Ken."

The tyrant didn't think, his body simply reacted, and the next thing he knew he'd flipped his prisoner over his shoulder and onto the floor painfully. He was panting with rage as he whipped the redhead's arm a few seconds later. Daisuke cringed and held his wound, stinging throbs flying up the limb painfully.

"Do _not_ fuck with me," the tyrant hissed, coiling the weapon back up and placing it on his hip. He didn't feel even remotely bad for causing another injury on the prisoner's already sprained arm. "I gave you this room so you wouldn't bother me, and I'm more than willing to take it back if you're just going to cause trouble anyway. You can rot in the dungeons instead!"

The Kaiser pulled a small device out of his pocket that would scan electronics and tell him if they had been recently used or not. That wasn't the only purpose it had, but that's all he intended to use it for right now. So he pressed a button on it and a large blue beam shot out and onto the wall. He began using the beam to scan the room up and down, including all of the electronics. He made sure to pay extra attention to the desk that Daisuke had been at, examining it multiple times. After a few minutes though he growled and shoved it back in his pocket. Nothing... he'd found absolutely nothing at all. So signs of electronics in the room that he didn't already know about, and none had been used in the last thirty minutes or so.

"How did you get the music to play?" he demanded, Daisuke glaring at him as he stated the same thing he had before. Ken went over to the TV and began fiddling around with it, scanning it with the device more closely. Once again he found no signs of use, or of anything hidden inside.

With that the Kaiser stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him, unable to stand being in the same room with that horrible redhead anymore.

* * *

V-Mon grinned as the Kiwimon walked past him in the dungeon, both winking at one another secretly. As the blue Digimon stuffed the mp3 player he'd found in Ken's room amongst the straw bed he had been given, he couldn't help but note to himself how good Kiwimon was at acting. It was a great quality for her to have, being the main messenger Digimon and all. She'd be able to give Ken false information and keep him off track for them. And although he hadn't liked it at the time, spending an entire day acting like a slave had paid off in the end.

The Digimon in charge of the security cameras was now part of his little resistance group, and had recorded an entire day of "regular activity" to play on the cameras instead of actually showing the events going on in the dungeon. That way they'd be able to use the room as a sort of 'headquarters', many of the slaves, guards and maids, as well as a few other important Digimon around the base having been released of their dark ring's control. Once a week they'd record another day of "regular activity" so that Ken wouldn't get suspicious from seeing the same movements over and over again. Everyone involved in the resistance had been excited at the idea of causing Ken some frustration and pain before they escaped, even if it was a bit dangerous.

There were a few Digimon who, upon being freed of the dark ring's control, just wanted to leave. So they'd found a way to get them out of the base. V-Mon didn't want to _force _anyone to play along with his prank if they don't want to.

Ryuudamon had suggested they just release all of the prisoners in the entire base so that everyone was free, but V-Mon turned it down. While it was a noble idea, it would ruin all of his plans if they did that. Sure, they would eventually, but not _right away_. Was his plan productive? No, it probably wasn't. Did it lower their chances of escape? Yes, it probably did. Was it going to be fun as hell? _Yes__,__ yes it was._

V-Mon sat down on the bed in his cell, mind going over their upcoming plan. This one actually involved Daisuke a lot more. He'd still have to sneak into his room to warn his partner about it, but he knew the redhead would love the idea. Granted, Daisuke would end up taking all of the blame, but that was good because it would make Ken suspicious of him instead of any of the Digimon. All that was left was to get the boy's guards into the resistance, and they'd be set!

The little Digimon couldn't help but giggle with happiness. He never thought he'd say this, but being stuck in Ken's base was awesome!

* * *

_'That boy...'_ Ken growled to himself viciously. He'd spent the last two days trying non-stop to find where the source of the music had come from, but had failed miserably. It wasn't because he hadn't found anything either, but because there had been over 50 different locations marked as having used electrical equipment at the time of interest. How was he supposed to figure anything out like this?! This was the third thing Daisuke had done to piss him off and cause problems in the base now, and it couldn't continue. Perhaps he should install security cameras into the prisoner's room? He hadn't seen the need before, but he was very quickly changing his mind.

The tyrant slammed his fists down on the keyboard in front of him, frustrated at how hard it was becoming to focus on his work. Even when he had everything under control he found himself thinking about ways to keep the boy from getting into more trouble instead of getting his work done.

The Kaiser took a deep breath and looked back up at his screen, secret project still very much under construction. He'd thought it would be a good idea to take a break from the special dark ring and work on his other idea, but now he was starting to think he should just get the ring done as soon as possible. Especially since-

"Ken-chan?" came the quiet voice of Wormmon from behind the Kaiser's chair.

"WHAT did you just call me?!" Ken exclaimed angrily, his patience having left him long ago.

"I-I'm sorry, I mean master..." Wormmon's shaky voice whispered around the metal room as he began cowering behind his partner.

"Just because Motomiya has called me that a few times doesn't mean it's okay!" Ken decided right then and there that anymore mentions of his name in the base meant an immediate whip in the face. He'd been forgiving before, but this was just unacceptable. "Now what do you want?"

"I just wanted to see if you were hungry," Wormmon seemed to feel a little braver now, having been directly asked to speak. "It's almost five in the afternoon and you haven't eaten anything all day."

"I will eat when I want to," Ken hissed loudly, quite disliking the question that the worm had ended up presenting him with. Wormmon sighed, slinking out of the room silently. He surely knew by now when to give up and leave Ken alone, and this was definitely one of those times.

Ken sighed and leaned back in his throne, staring up at the ceiling of the control room. He really needed to get his act together and finish his new ring. The sooner he could get Daisuke under his control, the better and less stressful life would become.

"Well that was kind of mean, don't you think... _Ken-chan_?"

The tyrant's eyes widened slowly, a look of horror forming on his face along the way. Leaping into the air and spinning around the room, he frantically tried to find the source of the voice. He immediately spotted the very redhead that he'd been fuming about just moments ago, who was going to be in a lot of danger, very quickly.

"_MOTOMIYA_!" Ken hollered angrily, wanting to rip his hair out. "How the hell did you get in here?!" It was then that the Kaiser realized the other boy was transparent and a slight shade of blue. "You… how are you using my hologram program?!"

"Eh, things happen," Daisuke smirked and stretched his arms above his head. The Kaiser ran over to his control panel and began scanning his programs, shutting off his secret project before the boy saw anything. There had to be a way to shut the hologram off, since that program was controlled from that same very room. After a few minutes of searching though he came to realize that he couldn't affect this projection at all. That could only mean one thing...

"How did you get into my bedroom...?" Ken looked quite scary with his face shadowed by his hair as he glared down at the panel in front of him. There was only one way the boy could be doing this, and that was if he'd gotten his hand-held hologram projector. It was a small device that could create up to 25 copies of the image being recorded within a mile long radius. He didn't use it often, as its range was so short, but it was good to have out in the field.

"I didn't," Daisuke said simply as his hologram suddenly teleported right next to Ken. The tyrant turned to face him, many angry words ready to be hollered, when suddenly he realized that the previous hologram hadn't actually moved and was still there. The room was now filled with about 20 different copies of the boy, the one beside him having just been created.

"Alright, you listen now, and you listen _well_," Ken seethed, trying very hard to keep the dread growing in his heart unnoticeable. "I'm going to give you this _one_ chance to tell me where you are, stay there and give me my projector back when I reach you. If you do this then you won't be punished, and you should feel _extremely_ lucky to have this option. Otherwise I _will_ find you, and you _will_ regret it."

"Hmm..." Daisuke trailed off, fingers going to his chin in thought. "How about I give you a clue and when you find me, you just yell at me instead?"

Ken sputtered a little, having once again underestimated the response quality of his most favorite prisoner. Was he... offering a _compromise_ on his punishment?!

"Are you fucking _kidding_?!" the Kaiser exclaimed, feeling uncomfortable when the holograms began surrounding him and talking louder, all in unison.

"Nope, we're not kidding at all!" the many Daisuke's all grinned happily, clearly not taking the other boy's words seriously. "And I think I'm gonna start calling you Ken-chan from now on. It fits you better than this 'master' or 'Kaiser' shit."

"_EXCUSE ME?!_" Ken yelled and glared viciously at the holograms, his face now hot with rage. This was just... just...! "You _WILL NOT_ address me by my real name, _NOR_ will you put a _'CHAN'_ at the end of it!"

"Well if it pisses you off that much..." the many Daisukes trailed off, Ken releasing a sigh of relief. "I guess I have even more reason to use it then!"

The Kaiser spun on his heel and marched out of the control room.

* * *

The door to the lower level kitchen was thrown open, five or so Digimon scurrying out of the room in fear. A very angry Kaiser marched inside just seconds later. Without a care he began looking in the cupboards, turning tables over, and even going so far as to look inside the refrigerator. As he did, eight holograms of a very amused redhead suddenly appeared inside the room around him.

"Pretty desperate there don't you think?" Daisuke's echoing voices sneered at him, his face grinning as Ken looked under the sink.

"I've obviously underestimated your abilities," Ken said in a much calmer voice than before as he stood up and slammed the sink cupboard shut. He just needed to relax; take deep breaths, whatever, just anything it took to not let this little shit create such a strong effect on him. That meant Daisuke _won_. "But it won't happen again, boy."

"Boy?" the redheads laughed. "Is that my new name now?"

"I'll give you a new name..." Ken trailed off viciously as he looked behind the door. "It will be 'moron', and I'll whip the letters into your skin!"

"I see," the Daisukes chuckled. "For the record you're doing pretty well. You're on the right floor at least. There, I helped you a bit!"

Ken didn't reply to the prisoner... prisoners... because he refused to believe anything he said. He could be telling the truth just as easily as he could be lying, so he wasn't going to even _consider_ listening to him. He also wasn't going to consider skipping areas that didn't seem likely to have someone hiding inside. This boy was obviously skilled at causing trouble, which was easily proven by the fact that he and many of his slaves had been searching for him for roughly an hour now with no luck. The newly replaced security cameras showed no signs of a redhead either, so he wasn't going to chance missing him by assuming he couldn't be in a particular spot and have him turn out to have been in there all along.

"So this little hologram thing is pretty awesome!" Daisuke's voices spoke excitedly, a smirk forming on his face just seconds later. "I love how it shows me where you are on a map, so I can keep stalking you and basically using your own cameras against you."

"You won't think it's awesome anymore once I've found you," Ken hissed, looking inside the sink itself now. As expected he found nothing, which frustrated him a lot more than was realistic. Fists slamming on the counter he groaned loudly, then sighed, trying to calm himself down. Don't let the anger show...

"Need another clue, Ken-chan?" Daisuke asked in fake sweetness. He couldn't help but chuckle a little when Ken twitched at the name he'd used, the sound echoing horribly around the kitchen. "I'll just say that you need to think a little more... obviously."

"What the hell does that mean?!" Ken demanded, smacking his face with the palm of his hand afterward. He wasn't supposed to show emotion... this was complete insanity!

"When someone finds me you'll get it, "the holograms of the prisoner all began teleporting around the room, appearing to be dancing.

"W-What are you doing?" Ken asked as a very painful headache began to creep up his skull. "You know what? Don't answer that. I dislike the things in your mind."

"Awe, poor Ken-chan," Daisuke laughed and stopped jumping around, only one hologram in the room now. His voice no longer echoed, "I'll only stalk you with one hologram then."

"I refuse to speak with you anymore," Ken growled and stormed out of the kitchen, heading back down the main hallway. The hologram, of course, floated along down the hall next to him. The tyrant then opened the door to one of the bathrooms and tore it apart, finding nothing. Afterwards he searched in one of the camera rooms near the bathroom, finding nothing more than his slaves doing their jobs.

Ken groaned in frustration when Daisuke began singing 'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts' in what was clearly an intentionally out of tune voice.

_'I don't know where else to look__,__' _Ken thought to himself, starting to panic as he neared the area he'd started from. If he didn't get rid of him soon he was afraid that he may just pass out or something. But he'd looked all over that floor and the slaves had looked just about everywhere else! Where the hell else was there left to look?! He'd been everywhere and-?!

Ken stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted the prisoner's bedroom near the end of the hallway he was walking down.

"No..." Ken trailed off in horror, anger more directed at himself this time. _'Think more obviously'_...

He'd just _assumed_ the boy would have gone and hid somewhere other than his own room, and that one of the slaves would have looked in there already. Now that he thought about it though, he'd never actually told any of them to. But then... why hadn't he shown up on any of the security cameras?

Ken marched up to the door and threw it open, storming inside. However, he was met with an empty, silent room. All of the electronics were off except for the lights, and it was actually quite tidy. Ken was about to leave when a thought occurred to him. The feet of all the holograms on Daisuke had looked... odd. He didn't appear to be standing up, but more lying down.

"Get out from under the bed," Ken said slowly, watching the furniture closely. Sure enough, just moments later the boy rolled out from his hiding place and the hologram shut off. He was quite slow about it though, trying to prevent his injured wrist from being nudged. While it wasn't in the small cast anymore, the Kaiser knew very well that it had not yet fully healed.

"Seriously Ken-chan, I thought this would be the _first_ place you'd look!" Daisuke cracked up, Ken still standing in the doorway, face completely emotionless. The redhead got quiet and seemed a little confused when Ken didn't immediately start screaming at him. Instead, the tyrant walked over and snatched the hologram projector out of his hand and then stared at him, face completely blank.

_'He wants to piss me off__,__'_ Ken thought as he forced his body to remain calm. _'He's trying to stress me out to the point where I'll throw him out of the base or something. It's just some lame attempt of escaping, but I can't let him win. I can't let him get to me like this or I'll just be wrapped around his dirty finger. However... I can still punish him.'_

"Gorimon!" Ken hollered and the two guards quickly walked inside. "Take him to the northern dungeon and give him a cell. Instead of guarding this room you will bring him essentials like the other prisoners."

"Yes sir!" the guards bowed and took hold of the prisoner's shoulders, leading him through the door. Daisuke just sighed and allowed himself to be taken to his cell in peace, one of the guards closing the door to his old bedroom behind them and leaving Ken alone inside.

The moment the door shut and the tyrant could no longer hear footsteps retreating down the hallway, he grabbed the desk chair and threw it into the mirror, screaming at the top of his lungs in frustration. Glass shattered everywhere and the back of the mirror crashed to the floor along with the chair. The wall behind it had a large dent now. After that the tyrant took a very deep breath and released it slowly.

"Okay..." Ken said to himself and left the room, feeling a bit better now. After a few minutes he reached his control room and walked over to the monitors to watch Daisuke get put into his cell. He needed to _see_ the boy imprisoned before he'd feel better, that much was for sure. The prisoner, however, didn't seem to put up any kind of a fight as he was locked inside the cage, lying down on his tiny bed and staring up at the ceiling. It almost seemed as though he was _comfortable_...

Ken groaned for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and sat down in his throne, exhausted from stress. However, the chair was no longer there and just like before, he went crashing painfully to the metal floor below. Instead of getting up he simply stared at the ceiling for a while, one thought turning over and over again in his mind.

_'I really hate that boy__.__'_

* * *

Daisuke sat up in his prison bed and fiddled around with his finger nails, looking down at them as he did so. A slow, quiet sigh escaped his lips and a frown formed on his face. He really didn't know what to make of the discovery he'd come across while playing around with the holograms in Ken's control room. He'd been having too much fun at the time to really think about it at the time, but now he couldn't seem to get it out of his head.

He knew that Ken was working on all sorts of strange projects, but from what he'd seen it appeared that he was creating some kind of horrific Digimon now. He hadn't seen its name because the words were too small to read from the shadows in the back of the control room, but he could tell right away that it was made up of many different Digimon. He didn't know all of the parts, but he definitely recognized Greymon, Angemon and Garurumon, as well as what appeared to be a Devimon. He knew that evil Digimon from hearing the stories of the original Chosen's adventures.

Why would Ken want to make something like that? To take over the Digital World with? Well why did he want to do _that_ so badly anyway? Surely he knew how much pain he was causing the Digimon, so why would he be willing to do such a thing?

_'Ken... are you really an evil person?'_ the redhead thought slowly to himself. In some ways Ken seemed like a sadistic bastard, but in others he seemed like a regular kid, so what was up with him? He couldn't help but feel a bit curious about him. Was there more to this than he knew, or was he just as evil as Devimon? Daisuke didn't want to believe that human was born evil, but Ken had yet to show him any signs of having a heart.

The redhead laid down on his bed. He really didn't know what to think of the tyrant right now, but maybe he'd get a chance to find out. In the mean time, the safest thing was to assume that he was simply evil in order to protect himself and the Digital World.


	4. Self Destruction

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 4: Self Destruction

Author's Note: The parts that are in bold are where it shows a small insert of what V-Mon is doing at that moment. Originally I only had them in italics, but I found that it made it confusing because I also had parts where someone was thinking in italics. Also, thank you 'TeamAbodo' for editing this chapter =)

* * *

The Kaiser typed quickly at his main computer, eyes calm but sharp with strong concentration. The lights in the room were dim, barely illuminating anything at all. Even the very computer the tyrant typed at was barely lit up, as though it was low on power. However, one thing in the room did stand out from the rest; there was a level of intensity radiating from the Kaiser himself that caused most of the slaves to avoid going into the main control room unless directly asked for by their master. His level of focus was staggering and his silence left an eerie echo around the room and nearby corridors.

The dark haired boy narrowed his eyes as he typed a little faster, pressing various buttons on the keyboards near him. The light blue glow from the screen in front of him reflected off his face and glasses, causing dark shadows to form all about his features.

Gloved fingers slowly moved up to his face and removed the emperor style shades, setting them down on the surface to his right. He squinted at the information in front of him, a quiet curse escaping his lips. He had to find the source of this madness and he had to find it soon, or who knew what further complications would pop up unexpectedly.

"_**Now, you're sure that you remembered to replace the security videos for this floor**__**,**__** right?" V-Mon whispered to the others in the room with him. Ryuudamon and Funbeemon nodded and gave him confident grins, sealing V-Mon's determination. Perfect; everything was going according to plan.**_

Another low curse was exhaled along with his breath as the Kaiser realized that he was starting to run out of places to look. He'd already sifted through every single file, folder, piece of data; everything in his entire computer's database and was now doing it all over again. The answer had to be there somewhere though… probably right in front of his face but he was too stressed out to notice it.

"Sir…" Kiwimon's voice echoed into the room and bounced off the walls. Ken didn't bother looking towards the doorway to see who it was though. "The portable devices have started doing it too, and again it started with the ones right by the northern dungeons-"

"Silence." The Kaiser spoke quietly but in a harshly low tone, not allowing himself to be distracted from his work. The Digimon made a slight sound as though to acknowledge him and then backed out of the room slowly, shutting the door quietly behind her. The room was once again flooded in darkness. Yes, he knew there were more… infections scattered around. He didn't need to be informed as though he was blind. After all, he'd only been investigating that very matter for the past two hours now; ridiculous fools.

"_**Shouldn't we head back to the dungeons now?" Ryuudamon asked the blue leader next to him as he glanced over at the security camera showing Ken's control room. "We know the plan worked now**__**,**__** so we might want to head back before we get caught or something."**_

"_**You can if you want to." V-Mon said idly as he continued to watch Ken work. "If he checks the cameras for this room he won't see us in here; he'll see the video from yesterday, so he won't catch us. I want to watch and see what he does… he can't stay on life support power forever. Eventually he'll have to turn the main power back on, and that's where the real fun is."**_

_**Ryuudamon glanced back over at the video of Ken working at his control panels and then back over to V-Mon, a mischievous grin forming on the blue Digimon's face.**_

Time continued to pass, to the Kaiser's great disdain. There had to be something he hadn't thought of yet… some weakness in his programming that he hadn't even realized could be so hard to find when he'd built the base long ago.

He glanced over at the clock and growled to himself; he'd wasted so much time on this insanity. This wasn't going well at all, how could he have allowed this foolishness to happen? Well no, he hadn't allowed it by any means. Apparently he just wasn't observant enough.

Even more time passed and before the tyrant knew it, he'd successfully checked every possible location in the entire length of the base for the second time. The Kaiser rubbed his temples with his finger tips, groaning loudly and closing his eyes as a dull headache began to throb. With a defeated sigh, the boy pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket and proceeded towards the door. He had no other choice now… as humiliating as it was, he simply didn't know what else to do. Someone, somewhere, was going to be severely punished for this.

"_**Step 9!" V-Mon whispered over to Funbeemon urgently, who pushed some buttons and all of the security screens changed to the northern levels only. Kiwimon's job was to get Ken suspicious of Daisuke by telling him that most of the issues were coming from his floor, which was true in fact, since the Digimon had purposely set it up that way. They just wanted to make sure it was pointed out to the tyrant as much as possible; the more suspicious of Daisuke Ken was, the less likely he'd target one of them and discover what they were doing. It appeared to be working too; a few minutes later they saw Ken heading down the hallways of the top floor towards the dungeons.**_

The boy's shoes echoed loudly around him with no other sounds to drown them out. There were Digimon scurrying about, some with flashlights as well, but their noises were hushed in the darkness. Before he knew it, and far sooner than he liked, he'd reached his destination. He lifted his knuckles to the door and shook his head, closing his eyes slowly. Well… here goes.

The sound of sudden knocking must have startled the Gorimon guards on the other side of the door, a muffled gasp seeping through the crack. Immediately it was thrown open and the guards bowed, allowing their master to enter. He walked swiftly over to one of the cells in the dungeon and stopped in front of it, shining his flashlight past the metal bars.

"Get up." The Kaiser seethed with contained fury, the other human in the room squinting at the light. "Get up now and come over here."

"Yeah, yeah…" Daisuke sighed and got up off the creaky bed. He made his way over to the door and crossed his arms in wait. "What do you want?"

"Motomiya…" The Kaiser trailed off slowly after taking a steady breath. "Tell me how you did this and everything can remain… civil."

"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked, voice sounding genuinely confused.

"You…" Ken trailed off and once again rubbed his temples. "Don't even do this damn it… I'm already a thread away from snapping and destroying everything within reach. Just tell me how you pulled off this little stunt and everything can continue as normal."

"If you don't tell me what I did then I don't see how I'm supposed to-"

"THIS, MOTOMIYA!" Ken finally yelled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a strange looking remote. With the push of a button the power in the base came back on fully, the redhead squinting at the sudden light. For a moment he wasn't sure what Ken could have been talking about, but then he saw it.

Each room had a small television in one of the corners that displayed what the security cameras were recording. It had sound built into it as well, though it normally was kept on mute so there wasn't an echo in the room. However, it was on all the way this time and the video was something very, very different from what it was obviously supposed to be.

Daisuke looked Ken straight in the eye, and just like that his resolve broke, the boy hunching over into a fit of laughter. Ken groaned loudly and let his arms go limp at his sides, staring up at the ceiling in frustration and defeat.

Yes, Ken really had just spent the last two hours of his time trying desperately to figure out where the porn was coming from. It had started playing on his computer screens very suddenly, and upon doing a quick scan he discovered that it was spreading rapidly throughout the base. Every security camera, playback video, speaker, display screen of any kind and apparently now even the portables were playing the same video on an endless repeat. Kiwimon had reported to him, and his scans had confirmed, that the infections had begun on the northern most level and spread downward from there.

And wouldn't you know it, the top floor dungeons was right where a certain human prisoner was currently located at.

"Yes it's just hilarious." The Kaiser spat, pressing a different button on the remote and returning to emergency power only. He shoved the device back into his pocket and pulled the flashlight out again, shining it on the boy in the cell before him. The loud moaning from the screens being cut off abruptly caused an unnatural silence to settle in the room. "Now shut your mouth and listen!"

The redhead stood up straight and stopped laughing, but was still snickering under his breath with a hand over his mouth futilely.

"You _will_ tell me where this crap is coming from." Ken said slowly and in a very dangerous tone of voice, pressing his gloved hand up against the cell. "Or so help me I will have a dark ringed V-Mon beat the shit out of you until you scream it for me."

Daisuke stopped snickering after that and his eyes lowered into a glare. He tapped his foot for a second and looked down at the floor with his arms crossed, appearing to be thinking intently to himself. He stayed like that for a minute or two, chewing on his lip and not saying anything. Then suddenly his eyebrows raised as something seemed to occur to him. He cleared his throat after that and looked back up, a neutral expression on his face.

"Alright." The prisoner nodded and unfolded his arms. "I do know where the video is coming from and I can tell you right where it is… on three conditions."

"_**Conditions?" V-Mon pondered out loud. Daisuke surely knew that V-Mon was the one doing all of these things by now, but he couldn't actually know the details on the matter. They hadn't coordinated this mission with the boy at all, assuming he'd just play along with it to keep the heat off of them. That meant he was bluffing and had some plan of his own.**_

_**V-Mon listened hard for what his partner would say next. This was probably some way of communicating with him without Ken knowing it. Daisuke knew V-Mon would constantly sneak into the security rooms and watch the progress of his pranks while they were happening, so he must be assuming that V-Mon was watching now…**_

"… conditions?" The Kaiser narrowed his eyes again and repeated slowly, in an even more dangerous tone than before. The prisoner didn't flinch though, and simply nodded in response.

"Yes, conditions." Daisuke repeated himself and continued. "First;" He started by lifting up his index finger. "V-Mon and I will not have any dark rings put on us while we're here." Lifting another finger he continued. "Second; we get the nice room back."

The Kaiser's expression didn't change a bit as he stood in front of the other boy, as if he'd guessed that Daisuke would ask for these things. There was silence for a while as they looked at each other, the Kaiser eventually speaking. "And…?"

"And… Lastly…" Daisuke trailed off, the third finger rising. "You let V-Mon and I roam the base freely."

* * *

The Kaiser whistled to himself lightly, typing quickly at the laptop in front of him. The control room was brighter now and his glasses were back on. In front of him was his special dark ring project, statistics running across the screen quicker than seemed possible to actually keep up with. The tyrant knew everything it said though, and didn't need to read everything. He was only looking for one particular section anyway, so the rest could scroll by for all he cared.

Ken shifted a little in his chair, sitting sideways with his legs hanging over the arm rest. He tapped his foot idly to a song playing in his earphones, eyes glancing above the screen to something else in the room nearby for a split second. A smirk formed on his face and his eyes went back down to the screen, fingers once again pressing at buttons.

"Things could have been much easier than this, you know." Ken said with genuine calmness for the first time in quite a while. "Not that I would have expected you to make _anything_ easy for me."

The sound of a nearby chuckle echoed lightly around the room, the tyrant glancing back up from his screen in front of him. His eyes narrowed a little bit and he closed the laptop screen, folding his hands on top of it and leaning forward.

"Something funny Motomiya?" Ken asked tiredly. The boy before him chuckled again and leaned his head back, resting it against the metal post. The pole had been set up in the very center of the Kaiser's main control room, heavily bolted to the ceiling and floor. The prisoner had been pressed against it and tied up tightly with chains, arms above his head. The Kaiser had considered putting tape over his mouth or something, but decided against it in the end. After all, he still needed to persuade the prisoner into telling him how he'd gotten the videos to play. Using his laptop, which was the only portable device in the base not hooked up to his main computer's interface and thus infected by the porn virus, had been his only option left as far as getting _anything_ productive done went. He'd had to route more of the emergency power to the control room because of it, but that wasn't a huge problem. He had already spent far too much time fucking around with the other boy's pranks, and refused to play any of his games anymore. Instead, he'd leave that to the 20 guards he had positioned around the tied up boy.

One of the guards picked up a nearby taser and turned it on, electricity sparking from it momentarily. He walked over to the redhead in the middle of the room and stood in front of him, waiting for his master to give him the order.

"Well?" Ken asked calmly from his nearby chair. "Are you going to talk now or shall we continue?"

"It's funny how you still think I'm actually going to help you." Daisuke replied defiantly, as Ken had honestly expected. "The longer it takes you to give me my demands, the longer it will be before the chaos stops." The tyrant sighed, opened his laptop again and flicked his wrist at the guard, giving him the order to proceed. Without even looking up to watch, the Kaiser went back to typing at his computer. Then the guard quickly closed the distance between the taser and Daisuke's side.

The prisoner gritted his teeth and refused to scream, only grunting a little bit before the device was removed. The power on the taser wasn't very high, though Ken fully intended to increase it the longer it took to get the answers he wanted.

"_**Is everything ready?" V-Mon asked the others in the room, receiving reassuring nods. He nodded back and got in position himself. This plan was dangerous for sure; they hadn't really had any time to prepare and could easily get caught. They were still in the room that had the false security recordings so that would give them some cover, but they hadn't had a chance to get Andromon's help in keeping traces of their work hidden.**_

_**However, the effect of what they were about to do just might be enough to keep Ken from finding them amongst all of the panic. Now he just had to wait for the right moment…**_

"You really do confuse me Motomiya." Ken spoke up idly, still not looking over at him. "You had such a nice room before and even some privileges that none of the other slaves here had, and now look at you; chained to a pole and surrounded by guards. All for… what? Some fun?"

"I made a promise when I came here." Daisuke said hoarsely from the post, one of the chains digging into his neck after trying to shift his position.

"And what was that?" Ken finally looked back up now and straight into his prisoner's eyes. Daisuke grinned at him, a very strange glint flying back.

"That I'd make you regret every last second you kept me here."

_**Perfect.**_

"Warning! Self destruct has been initiated; detonation in 20 minutes." The sound of an extremely loud alarm going off and the lights turning off, becoming replaced with slightly tinted red ones, startled everyone in the control room. Ken nearly dropped his laptop and the guards began looking around the room in a panicked confusion. The Kaiser jumped up and nearly threw himself at his main computer console, cursing loudly when he realized the porn from earlier was still playing.

"Computer!" The Kaiser said loudly into the general direction of the room. "Cancel the self destruct, I did not authorize that!"

No reply came however, and the alarms and lights continued to flash wildly. The tyrant cursed loudly and picked up his laptop again, typing at a speed that seemed impossible for any human being. A few minutes went by, the guards continuing to look around the room as though they might just find some big red "shut off the self destruct!" button on the ceiling. Ken typed and clicked, and typed and clicked some more, until he suddenly slammed the laptop shut with a loud curse.

"Warning! Self destruct initiated; detonation in 15 minutes."

"SHUT UP!" Ken yelled at nothing in particular, rubbing his face roughly with his gloved hands. "Computer, who authorized this?"

"Ken-Chan!" Wormmon's voice cut through suddenly as he entered the room. "Ken-can why did you activate the self destruct?"

"_First_ of all!" Ken growled as he kicked the worm across the floor. "MY NAME. IS NOT. KEN-CHAN. And second of all, I _did not_ fucking activate it!"

"S-Sorry master…" Wormmon grumbled as he straightened himself out and hobbled back over to his partner. "I forgot to stop calling you that again… and if you didn't activate the self destruct then who did? You're the only one with the authorization to do so."

"Yes I know this." Ken glared at Daisuke furiously. The redhead didn't give any kind of response to the gesture, remaining still against his post. "And no way in Hell am I evacuating the base."

"But Ke-Master!" Wormmon caught himself. "If you aren't able to deactivate it then everything will be destroyed! All of your work, the slaves… everything; you'll have nothing to defend yourself with!"

Wormmon was right and Ken knew it. Not only would he lose his base, but everything that he'd worked so hard for. If that happened then that meant he lost the whole game, plain and simple. He would have nothing to fight the Chosen with and he might as well go back to the real world, tail between his legs, which was simply unacceptable. If he evacuated then yes, he'd probably lose the base, but that wasn't such a huge setback. He could re-create it or find a new place to take hold of afterwards without too much trouble.

"Fuck…" Ken groaned and once again rubbed his face, feeling a little dizzy with stress. "Fine… fine! _You_ can fucking evacuate everyone in the base then Wormmon… as well as my important equipment. I'm not doing it, I need to try and stop the computer from blowing itself up. And as for _you_…" Ken trailed off as he looked over at his prisoner, voice dropping to an eerily low pitch. "You can go rot in the dungeons and pray that I manage to shut off the-"

"But Master…" Wormmon cut him off nervously, clearly not wanting to do so but feeling he had no other choice. "You'll need him to go get the power source."

"Don't interru-!" Ken cut himself off when he realized what Wormmon meant. Damn that insect for being right again… the force field he'd put up around the object powering his base could only be passed through by a Human. It could be deactivated, but with the porn covering his screens he had no way of getting to the commands to actually do so. His laptop only had so many capabilities, and that wasn't one of them unfortunately. This meant that only he or Daisuke could remove it before the possible explosion. It would also take enough time to get down to it that he wouldn't be able to come back up to the control room and continue his work; he'd have to evacuate himself immediately. So the only person that could get it in time while he was able to try and stop the explosion was…

"Oh _God_ damn it!" Ken swore and threw his arms up in fury, groaning loudly afterwards and staring up at the ceiling. No way… no mother fucking way… "No, absolutely not."

"Master, Daisuke _has_ to get it if you're going to stay up here…" Wormmon continued, still sounding nervous. "Otherwise you'll either have to give up on trying to stop the explosion and get it yourself, or let it explode with the base."

"But… but I… he's a fucking… they… FUCK!" Ken stammered, pacing in a small area for a few seconds and then throwing his arms up once again. "FINE! Wormmon, evacuate the _fucking_ base. I will work on this bullshit… and not only will all of you be escorting this… _terrorist_!" Ken motioned to the guards in the room surrounding the other human in the room. "But so will every other trained guard in the base! If he does anything, and I mean _anything_ suspicious with it, then drag his ass away and leave it; we'll just have to go on without it. _Understand_?"

"Yes sir!" The guards said in unison and began unchaining the boy from the post. Ken felt himself clench his fists hard at his sides. Somehow he just knew he'd been had…

* * *

"_**Alright we have to go now." V-Mon said to everyone in the room with him. "We finished up everything we can do and Daisuke will be evacuated with the guards, so we need to get ourselves out now. Funbeemon, you just finished shutting off everything we used right?"**_

"_**Yeah." The large insect Digimon nodded. "I'll go ask the Dorumon if it's clear." Funbeemon then headed for the door to the security room they were in, opening it a crack and whispering out through it. After a second or two the doors opened all the way and the two Dorumon guards outside waved them out. V-Mon was in the back of the group and proceeded down the hallway with the others quietly. Ken would be able to track what they'd just done down to that console, but that didn't necessarily mean they'd get caught. The security cameras hadn't been recording anything that day, so as long as no one knew they'd been in there then-**_

"_**Hey, what are you guys doing?" A voice spoke up suddenly, Kiwimon, V-Mon and Funbeemon turning around to see who had spoken to them. To their disdain they were met with one of the still enslaved Gotsumon. "Why were you in there and not evacuating with the rest?"**_

"_**Uhhh…" Funbeemon trailed off, lost for words and obviously feeling nervous. V-Mon cursed inwardly, trying to think of something fast. Was it already too late? If Ken started asking his slaves if they'd seen anyone in that room**__**,**__** then this Gotsumon would report them… and then…**_

"_**Hey, answer me!" The Gotsumon repeated; his voice much harsher this time.**_

"_**We… we were just-" Kiwimon started but was cut off when she saw Ryuudamon leave the security room late behind the Gotsumon. He cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the guard, who turned around sharply to face him**__**.**_

"_**We were making sure the security guards who were stationed in there heard the alarm and evacuated. We had security guard duty a few weeks ago and we know it's really sound proof inside**__**,**__** so we wanted to make sure they knew what was going on. They were already leaving when we showed up though, so we're just leaving now**__**.**__**"**_

"… _**Alright." The Gotsumon nodded and waved them on, ushering them to hurry up and evacuate with everyone else. "Get moving then, no more stalling."**_

"_**Thanks Ryuudamon…" V-Mon whispered to his friend as they walked quickly down the hallway. "That was close…" Now as long as Ken didn't question anyone about who had been in there… maybe they'd by unseen. If he did question them then they'd just have to use the excuse Ryuudamon had made up**__**,**__** and be firm with it. As long as they all indicated that there had been guards in there prior to them and they just 'couldn't quite recall what they looked like', then no one had to get in trouble.**_

* * *

The amount of chaos that had erupted in the base from the self destruct announcement was a lot more intense than Daisuke had imagined. Not that he'd really had much of an expectation in the first place; he certainly hadn't been the one to turn it on. That didn't make it any less staggering though as he walked down the halls with the sea of guards around him towards the main power room. Digimon were everywhere; running, screaming, carrying things and getting under his feet, or outright knocking him over as he turned a corner. That was even with the 4 Gorimon guards in front of him leading the way.

At least it hadn't taken long to reach the bottom levels; roughly 3 minutes from all the pushing and shoving down the hallways and around corridors after they'd left the elevator, leaving them 10 minutes before the explosion now. They'd have another 5 minutes tops to remove this "power source" apparently, and then 5 minutes to leave the base and get a safe distance from it. There were a bunch of Airdramon outside the backdoor waiting for them apparently, and would fly them to safety once they got on.

Eventually they came to a very large door which could only be opened by typing in the correct code on a small pad attached to the wall. There must have been at least 20 different numbers the guard typed before it opened. Once it did though, Daisuke couldn't help but stare in shock at the sight before him.

Only a thin bridge connected the doorway to the large tower in the center of the room, a drop so deep around it that he couldn't even see the bottom. The bridge was wide enough to fit everyone, but Daisuke couldn't help feeling nervous about the weight. He wasn't afraid of heights by any means, but without V-Mon there to protect him if he fell off… well, it made him care about the situation a bit more.

It wasn't until reaching the center tower and the guards opening another door to the inside of it that he started to feel a bit better. Once the new door was opened though, Daisuke found himself a bit disappointed by what he was met with. Somehow he'd expected something extravagant and powerful, but really all there was, was a pedestal with a strange black… thing on it, and a force field around it. Ken seemed the type to have a bunch of well equipped guards monitoring it, maybe some guns on the ceiling for the off chance of a thief, a pedestal with traps, and some gold adornments around it because why not. But there it was… sitting all alone, plain and gray in all its not-very-amazing glory. Well, apparently all he needed to do was grab it and go.

As the goggle-head walked into the room after an overly-firm shove by one of the guards, he reached slowly towards the force field. Ken had said it would let a Human's hand pass through it but… somehow he didn't find himself trusting the word of his enemy.

However, his hand was indeed able to pass through it without difficulty and continue forward towards the power source. He placed his fingers around it and lifted it up off the stand. Right about when he was feeling like he could leave now and stop worrying about his situation, the large object in his hands started glowing brightly. So brightly in fact, that everyone else had to shield their eyes while Daisuke tried not to outright drop it.

"Jesus what the fu-?" Daisuke started but was cut off when he heard a voice ringing in his head. It was quiet, so quiet in fact that he could barely even hear it over the sound of his own heart beating.

"Please take me back…" The voice whispered around his head once again.

"Back…? Like, back on the pedestal?" Daisuke asked out loud.

"What are you doing?" One of the guards shouted over at him, the redhead ignoring him from his position in the power room. All of them were covering their eyes and trying hard to focus on the boy in front of them. "Bring it over here now!"

"No, back…" The voice continued, a little louder this time. "Back where I belong."

"Where do you belong?" Daisuke asked louder this time, feeling extremely confused.

"Who are you talking to?" Another guard shouted from a little closer this time, obviously as confused as Daisuke but for a different reason. "Get over here right now!"

"I belong with Ken." The voice said in a sad voice.

"Ken…?" Daisuke asked, one eyebrow raising. "But why would you want to go with _him_?"

"He needs me."

"Uh… what are you?" Daisuke felt an arm grab his shoulder and yank him forcefully backwards, and was only able to hear one last thing before the object was wrenched from his grasp.

"Kindness."

"You're in a lot of trouble boy!" The Gorimon growled and began pulling him away, not caring how fragile the Human's arm was compared to his own.

"No wait!" Daisuke exclaimed but immediately grimaced and tried not to cry out at the pain. He didn't want to leave yet, having many more questions to ask the strange object. However, there really wasn't much he could do without V-Mon there to help him, because he sure as Hell couldn't do anything on his own against so many guards. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he was thrown onto the back of an Airdramon waiting at the back door, knowing he couldn't fight back this time.

They reached the top of a cliff quickly enough and landed, the guards carrying the power source away and then proceeding to ignore his presence afterwards. Chances were they knew he wasn't going to go anywhere; the cliff had no way down other than jumping and that was certain death. There were other Digimon and guards that had flown or been carried up there anyway, so they knew no one was going to let him leave. So with that Daisuke sighed and sat down, eyes locked onto the base a ways down. His mind was swimming with questions and confusions that he didn't know if he'd ever get answers to, and that pissed him off a lot.

"Daisuke…"

The redhead was startled at the sudden use of his name and looked around to find the source. When he saw V-Mon standing next to him, all of his upsets and worries seemed to vanish immediately.

"V-Mon!" Daisuke hugged his blue partner tightly, unable to hold back the excitement that spread throughout his chest. Then something dawned on him and he leaned back to look over his partner. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of a dark ring around his neck.

"Shhh!" V-Mon hushed his friend urgently and began looking around to make sure no one was suspicious. When it was clear that no one really gave a shit what was going on with the annoying human prisoner, the blue Digimon continued in as quiet a voice as he could manage. "The ring isn't active it's just on. Don't worry, I'm me."

"O-Oh…" Daisuke stammered, having to hold back a huge smile now. "I see."

"I can't stay long, I found out they were bringing you up here after your job so I rode up on an Airdramon. I need to tell you something and then I have to go, don't want Ken seeing us together."

"R-Right…" Daisuke nodded slowly and leaned down to let his friend give him the message…

* * *

"Warning! Self destruct initiated; detonation in 2 minutes." Ken sighed as the computerized voice rang out, hundreds of Digimon hovering in the air or waiting a safe distance away from the explosion range. He knew exactly how far away they needed to be and anyone that didn't listen to his instructions were just shit out of luck in his opinion. His sigh, however, had come from frustration. He'd worked very hard to try and get the computer to cancel the self destruct, but it wouldn't register anything he did. No matter how many times he hit "cancel", nothing ever changed and he didn't have enough time to troubleshoot the program. All he could do now was hope that he could find a new base to reside at before the other Chosen showed up to kick him while he was down; and he knew damn well that they'd do it.

There was a strange silence around the base as everyone waited with baited breath to see if the explosion would happen. They all knew it would, but somehow knowing they were about to see it made it tense, even for Ken. Though, in his case it was more of an anger at seeing his hard work blown up in his face. He would not let this push him over the edge though. He knew Daisuke had caused this somehow and was only doing it to try and get his demands. Ken would not give in no matter how many obstacles were thrown at him; he was not weak.

Speaking of Daisuke…

"Well I hope you're proud of yourself." The Kaiser seethed but tried not to let it show in his voice, not wanting to give his most favorite prisoner the satisfaction of hearing it. He didn't normally care all that much if someone saw him angry, but somehow this was different. He knew the boy was purposely trying to piss him off, and letting him see that he'd succeeded gave the Kaiser's stomach an unsettling feeling.

"Quite." The boy next to him replied simply, sitting on the ground next to his enemy and watching the base with a relaxed expression on his face. This only pissed the tyrant off even more.

"Warning! Self destruct initiated; detonation in 10 seconds." The voice rang out once again, Ken clenching his fists at his sides as he prepared for the shockwave. As the voice counted down from 9, Ken could have sworn he saw a smirk play over Daisuke's face, though he wasn't facing him straight on so it was hard to tell.

"5," The computer speakers rang out. "4, 3, 2, 1."

…

…

Ken waited for it, for something. The explosion, maybe even a rumbling sound… anything. He felt his fists clench harder as silence settled outside, everyone else waiting as well. However, nothing came.

"… what?" Ken asked quietly to himself as he stared in confusion at the completely unharmed base before him, and then all of a sudden it hit him. "Oh you little…!"

"Now now Ken, don't be so angry." Daisuke mock soothed his enemy, standing up clearly to get in a more defensive position in case the tyrant tried to attack him. "I tried to warn you that as long as you don't give me my demands, the chaos will continue. It's entirely up to you how this ends."

Ken felt the grip on his D-3 loosen in his hand as he stared at his enemy. It all made sense now… this would explain why no matter how many times he'd told it to deactivate, it didn't do anything at all… because it simply wasn't activated in the first place! It was all just an audio recording played in replacement for the porn sounds which, now that Ken really thought about it without anything stressing him out, the moment the warnings started going off, the porn wasn't playing its sound anymore. Those videos covered all of the screens so that he couldn't check any of the status reports in the base to see that the self destruct hadn't even been turned on, which normally he could have seen. His laptop couldn't access the self destruct programs, and with all the chaos of the possible explosion going on he wasn't able to find the source of the porn videos to shut them off and handle the self destruct. Of course it wasn't like he couldn't reprogram the computer system so that this couldn't happen again… but the fact that it had happened at _all_… he hadn't thought to fucking chaos-proof his god damned base!

Ken placed his hands on his head and gripped his temples hard, a strong headache starting to creep into his skull. That little shit… how could someone so stupid do things like this? It just wasn't possible!

"How are you doing this?" Ken felt himself ask without meaning to do so, frustrated at how… well, frustrated the words sounded.

"Just give me my demands and it can stop." Daisuke repeated his intentions firmly, not moving or backing down even an inch. There was nothing he could physically do, there were hundreds of guards around that Ken could easily order to attack him. What Daisuke was counting on, and Ken damn well knew it, was his enemy now being too afraid to bother in case the redhead caused some new kind of terror.

And it was working.

"No, no!" Ken yelled suddenly, startling everyone around him. "I won't give in to this bullshit! I AM BETTER THAN YOU! I am better than ALL of you! You can't fucking defeat me, especially not like this!"

"That's okay Ken, we can continue this game if you wish."

Ken knew what Daisuke was really trying to say… as long as he was there not given his demands, he'd make sure that Ken never accomplished his work or goals because he'd find ways to interrupt it. This was his way of defeating him… stalling his progress until his damned friends could break in and beat him themselves. He also knew that Ken would never do something as shameful as let his prisoner go because he couldn't handle him… that was worse than losing. So he could continue to do this and lose in the long run, or he could give Daisuke his demands… and then what? Then he would actually stop? But would he really stop? There was no way to know, and it was just as shameful to do that as quitting was. He also couldn't kill the damned boy because no matter how much he hated him, unlike Digimon he was still a real person with a soul... no matter what he did, he'd lose.

It was genius.

Before his sense of pride could catch him, the tyrant felt his knees hit the ground and a groan escape his lips, hands still clutching his head. This was ridiculous, he could not allow this! He'd just have to restrain the little shit even further or something… something!

'_But I even tied him to a fucking post in my throne room!'_ A nagging voice pointed out in his mind, making the headache throb even more. If even keeping the boy directly in front of him, surrounded by guards and unable to so much as move didn't work, then what would further restraint even do? What else _could_ he even do to restrain him further? He had been pretty much tied up as much as a person could be… there was nothing else to do, and the whole point of even having him there at all was to use him for experimentation on the new rings. If he did something like keeping him unconscious, then that would defeat the whole point as well, since he wouldn't even have him there for any productive purpose but to lie around and take up resources.

But he couldn't give him back to the chosen… he just couldn't, that was the most shameful option and he would not accept it!

But he couldn't keep him around like this or he'd never get anything done and lose!

"AAAAGH!" Ken yelled at the top of his lungs, ignoring everything else around him. This was too much… it was just too much.

"So Ken-chan." Daisuke said, the smirk oozing from his voice that the Kaiser didn't need to see to know was there. "About those demands…"

Ken felt his head slowly look up at the other boy, knees unfolding and body rising to his feet shortly after. His fists fully unclenched at his sides now, and as he locked eyes with his most… favorite prisoner… he realized that chances were, no matter what option he went with right now, it wouldn't be the right one.


	5. Sparks Will Fly

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 5: Sparks Will Fly

Author's Note: So up until now this story has been more of a "humor" adventure, but this chapter is quite far from that. I'm trying to touch on the actual Daiken now. There is going to be violence, because while I don't think that Ken would be a sadistic freak, I also did... you know... WATCH the show, and I realize that he does... you know... HIT people when he's mad, lol. Will there no longer be humor? That's not the case at all, it's just this chapter in particular. Also, thanks as always to 'TeamAbodo' for helping me with this story.

* * *

Daisuke fiddled with the metal band around his once-sprained wrist, scratching the skin underneath it. He'd never been the type to wear accessories other than his goggles, and even though the band wasn't very big it still bothered him relentlessly. The little beeping sound it made every second or so, though almost inaudible, was getting increasingly annoying every time it went off. Ken had most likely included it as some kind of punishment for his behavior thus far, which... he couldn't entirely blame him for, even if it hadn't really been him causing all the terrors around the base. V-Mon's ego had managed to inflate as high as the clouds for a little while, though it had been shattered shortly afterward.

Ken had agreed to give them each a key card to most of the rooms in the base, minus the really classified ones of course. They even got their old room back and V-Mon's dark ring permanently removed. All of this was on the understanding that Daisuke and V-Mon would be wearing trackers and were not, under any circumstances, to disturb the Kaiser anymore. If they did then the tyrant had sworn to lock them both up in cheap metal cages and hang them over the giant pit in the generator room. Daisuke was also to go to the Control Room every day at 10am for Dark Ring Experimentation sessions, or whatever Ken had planned for him that day. However, this hadn't been the source of V-Mon's recent upset.

Along with these circumstances, Ken had re-applied the dark rings and spirals onto every other Digimon in the base except for V-Mon and Wormmon. This was most likely due to paranoia, but it meant that the Digimon who had helped them before were back to being slaves. Ken had also re-installed all of his base's security and cameras, and had routed all of the video feedback directly to his Control Room screens in addition to the normal security rooms.

Putting it simply, they got away with it before, but they wouldn't be able to again. As long as Ken didn't find out about how they'd done it in the past and they didn't piss him off too much, they could probably keep their privileges until they managed to find a way to escape. In the mean time they'd just have to keep up the good behavior and pray that Andromon had done a good enough job at erasing all the evidence of V-Mon's little... adventures.

"Hey Daisuke, you okay?" V-Mon's voice cut through his thoughts suddenly, the redhead looking up at his partner on the other side of the kitchen table. It was the first morning of their semi-freedom, and both V-Mon and Daisuke had decided they were fucking sick of replicator food. It all tasted like rubber and was about as chewy as such. Neither had cooked much in their lives, but they both agreed that they'd even prefer their own kitchen failures over one more plate of plastic.

And kitchen failures their food became indeed. Was it better than the replicators like they'd hoped? Well, they were determined to think so anyway.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Daisuke smiled and finished the last of his food.

"Liar." V-Mon raised an eyebrow at his partner, reading his lack of enthusiasm as only a Digimon partner could. In all honesty, a lot of things had been bothering the goggle-boy lately. There were just too many unknowns to the Kaiser and it was enough to make his brain explode. He'd already found himself baffled enough that Ken didn't seem to have any issues with the things he was doing, and now he had even more confusions to deal with. The Kaiser's project to create a dark ring for humans, that strange Digimon he seemed to be making from various other Digimon's data, and now there was a talking, possibly sentient generator in his base?

"Hey look, it's nothing okay?" Daisuke said genuinely this time as he stood up, plate in hand and headed over to the sink to rinse it. There wasn't anyone else in the kitchen with them, the other Digimon in the base clearly too busy to cook or somehow preferring replicator slop. "I just have a lot of weird things on my mind."

"Like what?" V-Mon asked innocently through his food, crumbs falling out of his mouth.

"Well..." Daisuke trailed off as he set the dish in the sink and turned the water on, watching it slowly fill up. He looked at his reflection in the hot liquid, a frown settling upon his face. There were many things he didn't know right now, but there was one thing that he was absolutely sure of; he needed to know why Ken was doing this. He knew that he couldn't settle with never finding out.

There was another thing on his mind, though he had no intention of telling anyone else about it. He wasn't sure what it was about that generator that was making him feel so strange... it wasn't the words it had said, but more the feelings it had given him. He wanted to ask it more questions, to find out what it was, what it had meant, and why it was making him feel this strange connection to the tyrant that he had never felt before. It wasn't a connection he could explain, and he hadn't even been around Ken since then, but it was there... the feeling that Ken wasn't only the Kaiser to him.

"I just..." Daisuke spoke up finally as another thought he'd been playing around with lately came to the surface of his mind. "V-Mon, do you think Ken is human?"

"That's..." V-Mon raised an eyebrow, pausing from devouring the items on his plate. "That's a really random question Daisuke."

"When I say human," Daisuke shook his head and tried to organize his thoughts. "I don't mean physically, I know he's _human_. What I mean is... do you think he has humanity?"

"Humanity...?"

"It's like..." the redhead sighed, realizing that he was probably talking to the wrong person about this, but it wasn't like he really had anyone better to discuss it with... "Okay, humanity normally means that you have the qualities of a human being, but it can also mean kindness and compassion for others. So if I asked someone where their humanity went, I'm asking where their kindness went."

"Oh... so you're asking if I think Ken is kind?" V-Mon asked with a confused expression on his face.

"No V-Mon." Daisuke laughed and smiled over at his partner. "Never mind."

"Well, don't Digimon have humanity then?" the little blue Digimon asked, obviously stuck on the thought now.

"Hmm..." the goggle-head trailed off as he thought about the question. Yeah, it would make sense that Digimon would have humanity, which was funny since they weren't actually humans. In a sense it made the word a bit invalid. It was used in a sense that indicated it was special only to humans, but in fact there were many other creatures out there with it that weren't human. At the same time there were many humans who didn't appear to have a shred of it, such as Ken.

"Well," Daisuke spoke up once again. "You have it for sure, V-Mon."

The little blue Digimon smiled and ate more of his food as Daisuke continued to ponder the topic. Maybe that was what that strange voice in the power source had meant. It said it was trying to find Ken, and that it was Kindness. Did that mean it was Ken's humanity? Had there been some strange glitch when Ken first came to the Digital World that separated him from his humanity, and now he couldn't get it back?

The redhead's thoughts were suddenly cut off as a small alarm sounded from his waterproof wrist band, which doubled as a digital watch.

"9:55... time to head to the Control Room." Daisuke sighed and dried off his hands, realizing that he'd been thinking too much to actually wash the dish. "V-Mon, can you finish the dishes for me?"

"Sure," the Digimon nodded but had a look of concern on his face. "Meet me back at our room when you're done, okay?"

"Okay." Daisuke nodded back and headed for the doorway, but paused before he left the room. "Don't worry V-Mon, the ring won't take me over. I won't let it."

The little blue Digimon gave a much happier smile this time, and with a quick thumbs up to his partner, Daisuke left the kitchen and headed quickly down the hallway towards the elevator. The room he and V-Mon had been given was on the same floor as the kitchen, which was only one floor down from the control room. Ken had surely done that on purpose to keep his prisoners under close surveillance. If anything strange happened, chances were they were just a single set of stairs or a quick elevator ride away.

The redhead reached the Control Room much faster than he'd expected, only two minutes having gone by since he left the kitchen. He sighed and slumped his shoulders in front of the huge door. He sure felt stressed... this would be his first time seeing Ken since the self destruct incident, the tyrant's slaves having set everything up for him and explained the new rules of his partial freedom. Ken had refused to talk to him, and even demanded that Daisuke not come near the top floor where the Kaiser spent most of his time for a full week before the experiments would start up again. Ken probably felt like just looking at the prisoner's face could push him over the edge, and Daisuke wasn't so sure he'd given the tyrant enough space yet...

The boy raised his fist in front of the door and tried to knock, but found his arm wasn't able to move. He knew if he didn't show up for this he'd regret it a lot, but at the same time he wasn't sure if he'd regret it any less than if he actually did show up. It wasn't that he was embarrassed or guilty, it was simply that Ken had a short enough temper without him aggravating it with his very presence. What if the Kaiser just punched him the moment he walked in or something?

9:59... well, it was a lose-lose situation anyway, so he might as well just show up as Ken had asked.

He felt his knuckles knock against the door so lightly that he was sure no one heard it. Well, it was progress... at least he'd managed to move his arm at all, even if he'd made so little noise that it was pretty much guaranteed no one would-

The boy was surprised to see the large door open, but even more surprised when no one was there. Had it opened on its own?

"Yes?"

Daisuke looked down toward his feet, where the sound had come from.

"Oh, Wormmon!" the redhead mentally slapped himself. Of course, Wormmon always answered the door for Ken when the tyrant was busy, and he was only a foot high or something... "Sorry, didn't you see you there."

"It's fine, what do you need?" the small Digimon asked very quietly.

"Just here to be Ken's guinea pig..."

"Oh..." Wormmon trailed off, suddenly seeming nervous. "Well, Ken... uh... probably shouldn't be disturbed right now...

"But..." Daisuke trailed off, having a sinking feeling he really was going to be in trouble no matter what he did. "Won't he might be mad if I don't show up?"

"Well..." Wormmon also trailed off, probably thinking the same thing. "Just... don't speak unless spoken to, okay?"

"Uh... sure..." Daisuke rubbed the back of his head and walked through the doorway, Wormmon closing it shut behind them. The room was immediately dark, nearly pitch black. There only appeared to be one source of light, which was an extremely large screen in the middle of the opposite wall. Ken was sitting in his throne chair in front of it. Daisuke couldn't see the other boy's face from where he was standing, but the fact that he could nearly taste how much tension there was in the room didn't help him feel any better.

It was then that Daisuke found his eyes moving toward the screen.

"Where was the last place you saw him?" the reporter asked a middle aged looking woman with curly brown hair. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face seemed stained with sadness.

"It was dinner time..." the woman trailed off quietly, obviously trying to hold back tears. "He hadn't wanted to eat anything that night and went to his room early. Lately he'd been doing that... just not eating, or not being around. Then a few hours later we went to his room and there was the letter, and he was just... gone."

"But don't you live on the third floor?" asked the reporter in a confused tone of voice.

"Yes we do." the woman nodded slowly, the same confused look appearing on her face now. "It makes no sense to me at all... how could he have left? His room doesn't have a fire escape railing, only a balcony. All I can think is that he snuck out through the front door and we didn't hear... but it was so quiet, I just don't see how that's possible either. This is all very confusing for us."

"Akane-san, there are many theories on his disappearance." the reporter pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and scanned over it. "Most think he ran away for some personal reason, but some have suggested that someone put him up to this. Perhaps blackmail or with threats. Your family has a lot of publicity and money, so they might feel that you'll respond to some kind of demands. What do you think about this?"

"Anything is possible..." the woman sighed, tears flooding her eyes more than ever now. "If someone really did threaten or blackmail him into this... then I hope they'll let him go. If they want money or something we'll give it to them, though no one has come to us with any such demands yet. Just... Ken is the only thing my husband and I have anymore, after Osamu's death..."

Daisuke felt the tension increase in the room drastically for some reason, and couldn't help but notice Ken physically stiffen.

"Anyway..." the woman wiped her eyes and shook her head. "Ken, if you can hear me, please come home. If you ran away then just talk to us! We want to know why you're gone, but you have to tell us what we can do to fix things. I know we're not as smart as you and maybe we should have figured it out on our own, but we're only regular people and I'm sorry for that. Or if someone's forcing you, then please, to that person, just leave my son alone! He's all we have... we'll give you anything you want, just tell us. I can't lose another son like this. I love Ken as much as I loved Osamu and I don't want him to-"

The screen suddenly went black as Ken angrily snatched a remote up off the right arm of his throne chair. The moment the room went dark, the lights came on, probably automatically. They turned on quickly enough for the redhead to see the tyrant throw the remote against the wall near the screen, shattering onto the ground. The Kaiser then put a hand over his face and began taking deep breaths, clearly trying to calm himself down.

Daisuke suddenly realized that he really was in the wrong place at the wrong time... if Ken turned around now and saw him there, he'd probably-

As Ken turned around just then, eyes moving straight onto the other boy in the room, Daisuke figured it was probably a good thing that he hadn't managed to envision all the possible things that Ken could do to him if he got caught standing there...

The room suddenly felt much colder than it had just seconds ago, as though he'd only just now realized he'd been standing in a freezer the entire time. Ken's expression wasn't that of anger, but that of a shocked confusion. Daisuke was pretty sure that would change very quickly though.

"Uh..." Daisuke tried to speak, but his voice cracked harshly. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I uh... okay look I only came in here because you told me you wanted me to and Wormmon said it was okay to come in but to just give you your space so that's what I did but then you were watching something and I didn't want to bother you so I just left you alone but then I guess it was about something personal so now it looks like I was eavesdropping when I wasn't trying to and..." the redhead took a deep breath. "... please don't kill me."

Ken hadn't moved an inch during the prisoner's rant, though his expression had slowly changed into something very unreadable for the redhead. He was clearly no longer surprised, but he didn't exactly look angry either. He looked... emotionless. There was no expression at all, just a blank slate on the boy's face.

Somehow the redhead was sure this was worse than if he'd simply been angry...

"Ah..." Daisuke sighed and gave up. "I'm here for our 10am business... whatever it is you wanted to do."

Ken continued to look at Daisuke with that same emotionless expression on his face, and then turned around and walked over to one of his keyboards. The redhead watched silently as the Kaiser pressed keys and buttons, a bunch of strange codes appearing on the smaller screen he was now in front of. After a minute or so, he pulled the strange dark ring he'd been working on out of a drawer and turned back around.

The tyrant pointed at another chair in the room, this one near the panel he was typing at and in a corner. For a second Daisuke was confused, but then realized that Ken wanted him to sit in it. He did as he was told and the moment he sat down, four metal constraints clasped themselves around his arms and ankles. He'd been expecting it though, having been through this process before.

Ken still didn't speak as he fiddled with the ring in his hand, and his silence really bothered the redhead. Ken was so fiery and full of emotion... seeing him so introverted just didn't seem natural. Had him seeing that report on TV really upset him that much? Or was it just lingering anger over the demands he'd forced on him?

Well, he hadn't gotten his way entirely. Yes, he'd gotten the room back, V-Mon's dark ring removed and they could roam the base freely... but at the same time they had trackers on, Daisuke was forced to endure being Ken's guinea pig every day, and if they pissed him off enough then they'd have everything taken away. In the end, Ken had found a compromise. They both got something they wanted, but unknown to Ken was the fact that he was really the one with all the power now. Daisuke and V-Mon could no longer produce the kind of chaos they had in the past... it was only because Ken still thought they could, that they even had this much.

Ken walked over to his prisoner now and stood in front of him, unclasping the ring and quickly pushing it onto the boy's neck. He studied it for a moment, a frown appearing on his face. Daisuke didn't feel anything strange, though he wasn't sure what to make of Ken's obvious disappointment.

"What's your name?" the Kaiser finally spoke, his voice as emotionless as his face.

"Um... Motomiya Daisuke?" The redhead asked, not sure what else he was supposed to do. The tyrant sighed and pulled off the ring. "What, was that wrong or something?"

"Shut up." Ken didn't even look at the other boy as he continued to fiddle with things on the ring.

"Jeez... I was just asking-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Ken screamed at the top of his lungs and threw the ring onto the ground. The redhead winced as it shattered into pieces all over the floor. Ken probably had more of them to have been willing to break it like that, but that didn't make his reaction any less shocking. "You will speak when spoken to!" The tyrant took a deep breath as he glared furiously at his prisoner. "If I ask you a question then you will answer simply, and then shut up. Do you understand?"

"What's with you today?"

"That was a yes or no question!" Ken yelled and, to Daisuke's further surprise, grabbed his shirt around the collar threateningly. The redhead glared back viciously but said nothing more. Ken took another deep breath and walked back over to the drawer he'd pulled the last ring out of, taking another one out as Daisuke had expected.

The Kaiser pulled a cord out of the drawer and plugged it into the ring, a new screen popping up on his monitor. He edited and added some codes here and there, the prisoner having no idea what any of it meant, or even what language it was in. After he was done, Ken walked back over to the confined boy and shoved the ring around his neck. Once again he frowned.

"What's your name?" Ken asked for the second time.

"Um..." Daisuke trailed off. "I'm really not sure what I'm supposed to-" Once again he was grabbed by the collar, this time being roughly shook. He coughed and glared up at his enemy. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"You were not spoken to!" Ken yelled once again. "You will speak only when spoken to!"

"I did fucking speak after spoken to damn it!" Daisuke yelled back indignantly, determined not to give in to Ken's threatening bullshit.

"Ken-Chan..." Wormmon's voice floated over to them. "Please... that's enough now, just let him-" The little green Digimon didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before a whip went slashing into his face and sending him hurling into a nearby wall.

"And you will not speak at all!" Ken hollered as the Digimon fell to the floor in a heap, wincing and trying to stand up again.

"That's not okay!" Daisuke screamed, not caring what Ken did to him as punishment. "Wormmon didn't do anything to you, this is between the two of us! How the fuck can such nice people like your parents have created such a monster? What would Osamu think if he saw you now?"

Daisuke knew he'd possibly be pushing a button mentioning this Osamu person, having figured some basics out while watching the TV report. However, he couldn't help himself. The way Ken was acting just pissed him off, and when he was pissed off, he had the tendency to speak before thinking about it. However, he hadn't expected to get the level of reaction out of his enemy that he ended up getting.

Before he even had a chance to register what was going on, Ken had kicked him in the chest and sent the chair crashing onto the hard floor. Daisuke groaned painfully as his head hit the concrete below. He felt dizzy and his whole head ached, the room spinning around him. He winced and tried his best to push the nausea in his stomach back down.

"Take that back..." Ken shook with rage, his head cast downward and shadowing his face as he gripped the whip in his right hand.

"Take _what _back?" Daisuke spat from his position on the floor, still stuck to the chair by the metal clasps. he tried to pull himself free of them, but was completely unsuccessful.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Ken screamed and the prisoner cringed in pain as the whip was sent slashing into his side, cutting through the fabric and hitting the skin underneath. "You dare claim that Osamu is better than me... that he's smarter than me, that I'm worthless compared to him? And how dare you tarnish his pride like this? He's a better person than you could ever dream to be!"

"_W-What_?" Daisuke coughed through the pain. "I never said _any_ of that-"

The prisoner gasped as Ken grabbed him by his hair and wrenched him and the chair back into an upright position, smacking him in the face with the back of his hand as hard as he could. Daisuke tried not to, but when he was kicked harshly in the shin by Ken's heavy duty boots, he couldn't help crying out in pain.

"I'll give you one last chance." Ken seethed in a low voice, gripping Daisuke's hair with his gloved hand and wrenching his face upward. "Take what you said about Osamu back."

Daisuke glared up at his captor, body aching and too constricted to even do anything about it. He knew he could fight back and defend himself some more like he really wanted to, but that wouldn't be the best idea right now. If he kept on pushing Ken's buttons like this, he didn't know what the tyrant might resort to. Daisuke knew damn well that Ken had long since figured out that he was willing to sacrifice himself for his friends, more so than he'd even do for himself. He probably would torture or even destroy V-Mon just to prove a point, and he wasn't willing to take that chance, no matter how much he hated giving in.

"Fine." The redhead spat, deciding that even though he was giving in and 'taking it back', he wasn't going to do it pitifully. "Osamu is not better than you. I was never insulting him, but fine, I take it back."

Ken roughly removed his hand from the prisoner's hair, shoving him in the process and nearly tipping the chair over again. After that he leaned his hands up against the panels along the wall, clenching his eyes shut and taking in shaky breaths. He didn't seem to be very successful at calming himself down though, as tears began running down his face and his breathing became more strained.

Well, one thing was for sure... Ken clearly had strong emotions for his family; particularly this Osamu. Exactly what those emotions were, the prisoner wasn't really sure. It seemed to him that the tyrant harbored a great amount of dislike for his parents, but it was more complicated with his brother. He clearly held a lot of hatred and jealousy for the other boy, but at the same time he cared about protecting his honor. Ken had immediately assumed that he was claiming Osamu to be better than him, and that he was insulting him, like some kind of automatic response.

Ken's arms shook as he tried to control himself, but failed miserably. His cheeks were red and wet with tears. He removed his glasses and placed a hand over his face to try and wipe his eyes, but began gasping into it instead. He shook his head, but it changed nothing, and to Daisuke's surprise, the tyrant fell to his knees in front of the monitors and cried into both of his hands.

The prisoner knew very well that saying anything at all would be the worst possible thing to do right now, and he found it wasn't difficult at all to stay silent. Never in a thousand years had he expected to see the all prideful Kaiser cry in front of him, and the shock from it kept his mouth shut easily. Wormmon also remained silent from the corner he sat in.

The room was still, making Ken's sobs even louder than they normally would have been. They echoed off the walls and bounced back, as though each once happened twice. There were always guards by the door and they never moved unless Ken instructed them to, but even they seemed confused. They remained at their post and spoke no words, but they awaited their master with baited breath.

Many minutes passed and Ken was able to calm himself down slowly, managing to get the sobbing down to a shaky kind of breathing instead. His eyes were shut the entire time, and his shoulders shook no less than the worst of it even as his crying stilled. Finally he was silent, though his body shook no less.

"You..." Ken finally used his voice, which came out very hoarsely. Daisuke knew without a doubt that he was talking to him. "I hate you... I loathe you, I _despise_ you! Guards!"

The Gorimon and Thunderballmon at the door snapped to attention before Ken had finished saying the word, obviously knowing this was going to happen.

"Teach him a lesson."

The Thunderballmon flew over to the chair and pressed the escape button on the back of it, the clasps coming undone. The Gorimon had been just about to grab him and wrench him out of it with his huge arm when Daisuke kicked back off the floor, sending the chair crashing backwards into the Thunderballmon. Daisuke rolled back and jumped up to his feet as the Thunderballmon crashed into the wall.

Daisuke knew that Ken was going to have the guards beat him or something, and no matter how much he knew he was making his situation worse by fighting back, he just couldn't stand by and take it like this anymore... he'd already had to do it enough, this was the last straw for him. He'd surely end up back in the dungeons now, but he just didn't care anymore.

The prisoner ducked under the Gorimon's arm as it reached for him and dove underneath the control panels, quickly rolling back out and behind Ken. The tyrant quickly turned around to face the other boy, who was now in the middle of the room. There were two doors he could exit through, but only the main one was unlocked right now. He knew that because otherwise the other door would have guards stationed at it too. Unfortunately both of the guards were near the open door, and he'd have to get past both of them to escape.

"Restrain him damn it!" Ken hollered and the Gorimon moved quickly toward the boy while the Thunderballmon flew up into the air toward the other side of the room. Before the redhead got a chance to move he was surrounded by all three of them. His back was to the control panels, Ken to his right, Thunderballmon to his left and Gorimon in front of him. The door out was behind Ken.

"Don't just stand there!" Ken hollered once again, his voice filled with frustration. "Get him!"

As Gorimon lunged forward and Thunderballmon sent a wave of electricity in his direction, the redhead did the only thing he could think of to do; dove down toward the floor. If he aimed right, he could try and make it between Ken and Gorimon, and then it would be a straight shot towards the door.

To the boy's surprise, neither Gorimon nor Ken tried to stop him from getting between them and he made it past without any issues. He somersaulted along the floor and jumped up to his feet. However, the moment he bolted for the open door, a blood curdling scream sent shivers down his spine. He stopped in his tracks and spun around, eyes going wide with shock.

The Thunderballmon had tried to send a paralyzing shock attack at him, and Daisuke hadn't even thought about it when he'd dove down to the floor. Because he'd gotten out of the way at the last moment, the attack hadn't hit him and had continued along its path... and hit Ken instead, who had been on the other side of him.

The Kaiser clutched at the back of his neck, shaking violently. All thoughts of escape left the prisoner's mind as the redhead watched the other boy hunch over and scream in agony, electric sparks spreading throughout his body. It was then that he noticed the red glow on the back of Ken's neck, between his clawing fingers.

"What did you do to him?" Wormmon exclaimed at the Thunderballmon as he ran toward the boy.

"That shouldn't be happening!" The electric Digimon exclaimed back, looking just as surprised and confused as the other guard. "It was just supposed to be a small paralysis!"

Ken screamed louder and the red glow burned brighter, as though it was going to melt the very skin off of his neck. He clutched and clawed at it, and the electric tendrils around him began to warp and move. They no longer spread around his entire body and instead moved upward, gathering at his neck. Shocks and sparks flared from the red glowing spot, continuing to electrocute him. The tendrils had been an electric yellow before, but were now a fierce white.

Then suddenly, just as quickly as it had all started, it was over. The sparks stopped, the electricity no longer spread, and Ken's screams fell silent. He stumbled for a moment, eyes rising up to meet his prisoner's. Then they rolled into the back of his head as his knees buckled underneath him, the boy falling onto his back with a terrible crash upon the floor.

Silence filled the room, all four staring at the Kaiser lying completely motionless and un-breathing. They waited, breath baited, for the Kaiser to stand up in a furious rage and scream at everyone. Even Daisuke, who could have escaped multiple times over by now, couldn't bring himself to move.

Was Ken... dead? But... no, he didn't want Ken to _die_. Sure, he didn't like Ken, and it was true that he didn't want to stay locked up in the base like this... but to have his life end like that, so quickly and right in front of him... he couldn't go back and change that.

"Shit!" The redhead suddenly snapped back to reality and ran over to the other boy, leaning down and shaking him roughly. "No, wake up damn it! You can't die like this!"

"Get the medical team!" Wormmon ordered at Thunderballmon, who nodded and quickly flew out of the room. Daisuke looked down at his fragile, broken form and felt very sick to his stomach.

"No... damn it, wake up!" Daisuke shook Ken again with both hands gripping his shoulders, but the unconscious boy didn't react at all. "No, no, no!"

Daisuke then tried the only other thing he could think of to get the other boy breathing again; CPR. He'd taken a health class in school recently that taught him the basics, and although he hadn't exactly passed it with an A+, he could remember the gist of it.

Without a second though, he plugged Ken's nose and place his lips against the other boy's, quickly pushing air into his mouth. After that he sat up and pushed his fists firmly down on the boy's chest. He repeated this process a few times, but got no reaction. He tried breathing harder into him, to force more air inside, but he couldn't press harder down on his chest for fear of causing further damage.

A minute or so passed, but the redhead still received no reaction.

"Do you hear me Ken?" Daisuke exclaimed loudly as he pushed a few more times on his chest. "You're not dying here, not like this. You're way too damned proud to die on a dirty floor, so _wake the fuck up_!"

With one more firm push, the unconscious boy coughed hoarsely, blood gathering on the edges of his lips. Daisuke sat him up quickly and leaned him over, so he could cough up the bodily fluid before he gagged. Blood stained the floor in many places, but Ken was able to breathe.

The tyrant looked up slowly, exhaustedly, and his eyes met with his prisoner's. Daisuke only just then realized that he'd been crying since the moment he'd gotten down next to the other boy on the floor, and wiped his eyes as best he could. Ken had a dazed look on his face, but somewhere in it was a mix of confusion as well.

"... Why...?" Ken managed to get out in the same hoarse voice, but before Daisuke could even reply, a rush of Digimon suddenly burst into the room. A few of them carefully picked Ken up and laid him down on a stretcher they'd brought with them. After that they pushed it quickly out of the Control Room and towards wherever the medical bay was. The redhead watched them leave, not sure what to make of his feelings anymore. Ken had asked a good question... why? Why had he saved him?

_'I should have hated you, let you die__._' Daisuke thought to himself, staring at his hands. _'After what you just did to me, and what you've done to this world... but...'_

Daisuke felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized, for the first time since entering the Digital World, that he couldn't just go back and try again if things went wrong. He'd always known, but he'd never... _known_.

In his video games at home he didn't have to care why the villain was evil or what his past was. As long as he could get the experience points and loot then he was perfectly content. Or in his story books he knew that somehow the good guys would come out on top, and if they didn't, the sad ending didn't _really_ happen; it was just a story. However, there was no book he could shut this time, nor was there a reset button he could push on a game console. This was real, and if he fucked up, then that fuck up was permanent.

It had all seemed so fun before, like one big exciting adventure... but it had never occurred to him that even though it would be terribly unfair, someone could actually get killed during all of this, and one of those people could be Ken. Hell, one of those people could be _him_, or Hikari, or any of the others. What would happen to a human if they died in the Digital World? Would their soul be able to move on to the afterlife, or would it be stuck?

_'I can't undo your death...' _Daisuke thought slowly, still staring down at his hands on the floor._ 'This isn't a game, and Ken's not a Digimon... If he'd have died, I don't know what would have happened to him.'_

He'd always considered himself to be the one that was most willing to get his hands dirty if it meant getting the job done, but did he really have the guts to do it? In reality, it was probably best for the Digital World if Ken died. There would be no more evil trying to destroy it... but... somehow, he just wasn't okay with that. He really didn't know a thing about Ken anyway. Who was Osamu? He was his brother perhaps, but who was he _to_ Ken? Or his parents... why did he hate them? Had Ken always been this full of rage, or had he been an innocent loving kid at one point? When had Ken first come to the Digital World? What gave him the idea that it was okay to hurt Digimon?

One thing was for sure; after seeing the way Ken had reacted to Osamu, he was positive that Ken did have humanity and feelings. He was human, and he could care about others and experience kindness... it was just very selective. Perhaps there was just something wrong with him. Something had happened, or was still happening, to make him this way.

Maybe this was Daisuke's real reason for needing to know why Ken was evil, because if Ken died and he realized later that he hadn't deserved it... he didn't think he could live with himself.

* * *

Author's Note: My beta suggested I explain the whole Osamu thing, and why Ken reacted the way he did. You see, the dub really changed the relationship between Osamu and Ken. In the original, Ken didn't feel nearly as victimized or jealous over Osamu, but more that he was worthless. Even as a child he believed that there must be something wrong with him and that he wasn't good enough. This doesn't change as he ages, and he harbors these feelings of worthlessness for the entire season. In the end during the vision, Osamu tells him that he's paid for his mistakes, and that it's time to move on. Ken asks if it's true, if he's really been forgiven, and Osamu says yes. This is when Ken falls to his knees and says "I'm forgiven... it's finally over..." In truth, Ken couldn't forgive himself on his own, he needed OSAMU to forgive him before he was finally able to let go. Not even the Chosen Children's forgiveness, the ones he hurt and attacked the most, could break him of this depression. Once Osamu forgave him, he could forgive himself. The dub changed all of these things.

In this chapter Ken accuses Daisuke of comparing him to Osamu because he himself believes he can't compare to Osamu, and he then turns around and defends Osamu because he deeply loves him, and can't stand the idea of someone shamefully insulting him after it was his "fault" that he died. He's basically blaming Daisuke for the things that he subconsciously believes of himself. Daisuke misreads this as Ken hating his parents, and while it's probably true that Ken doesn't appreciate them much, it's more that he hates _himself_.

Seriously though, Ken's depression and suicidal feelings are a lot stronger in the original. Like right before Daisuke and Ken Jogress in episode 26, in the dub, Daisuke just kind of convinces Ken that he's a friend and it's not safe to fight alone. In the original though, Daisuke straight up has to talk Ken out of suicide. He yells at him to live and not throw his life away. He also says that he can't stand the thought of letting Ken go away forever, and that he'd never be able to forgive himself if he let that happen. It's just so much more meaningful. Then again, pretty much everything was more meaningful in the original.


	6. Awkward

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 6: Awkward

Author's Note: Jou's crest is "Faith/Faithfulness" in the original, not Reliability, so that's why I referred to him with that. I don't know if it'll ever come up in this story, but just for the record, Mimi's is "Purity" rather than Sincerity. Those were the only crest dubbing changes. And as always, thank you 'TeamAbodo' for being such a great beta reader.

* * *

The sound of mechanical beeping echoed around the base, bouncing off the walls and entering the other rooms nearby. Digimon scurried in and out of the medical ward, various equipment in their hands while orders were hollered at them through the doorway. The goggle boy himself had been given the task of getting more water from the kitchen and bringing it back, which he was now returning from.

No one noticed or acknowledged him as he entered the medical room other than an Orgemon, who snatched the water jugs out of his arms and ran them over to a nearby bed, one with a Human lying in it. It was still strange to see Ken there, stripped of his Kaiser garments and re-dressed in a simple medical robe. Even his hair seemed to have calmed down a bit, not entirely straight like in the real world, but nowhere near as spiky either. His face was sickly pale and sweat clung to his skin.

The tyrant had apparently been given something to knock him out once he was wheeled into the room, and hadn't woken back up since then. They appeared to be done with whatever medical procedures they needed to do and were now just letting him rest. Daisuke had been planning exactly what he wanted to tell Ken when he woke up for a few hours now, but to be honest, he knew himself better than that. The moment Ken actually regained consciousness he'd forget everything he'd intended to say and start winging it. So really, what was the point in thinking in advance?

Well... quite frankly he had a lot to say, that's why. There were just too many things to organize in his mind, and that was the whole damned problem. He could try getting note cards he supposed. At least that way when he surely lost track of what he was thinking about he'd have something to refer back to. Then again, he'd tried doing that many times in school and he'd always forgotten to even look at the cards when his mind went blank. Instead he'd just come up with something and, at the end of his speech, realize he'd had the notes in his pocket the entire time.

"Is that what made Thunderballmon's attack overreact?" Kiwimon's voice floated across the room, catching the redhead's attention.

"Look, just let me investigate it." Wormmon's replied back in a hushed voice. "It doesn't make sense right now, but I'll check it out with Andromon. Maybe he'll know."

"But... there's a Human right there..." Kiwimon glanced over at Daisuke for a second or two. "Maybe he'll know what that weird thing in his neck is-"

"I want to examine it myself first." Wormmon hushed Kiwimon, also glancing at Daisuke now. The look on the little green Digimon's face was... odd. Daisuke couldn't place it exactly, but it seemed like he was trying to hide something. "Just let me check it out on my own first, alright?"

"It's just that I think we should-" Kiwimon was cut off when the rest of the Digimon in the ward, other than herself and Wormmon, suddenly rushed over to Ken's bedside. Daisuke, happening to be taller than a great majority of these Digimon, was able to see that it was due to their patient waking up.

The tyrant's eyes fluttered opened and a pained groan escaped his lips, eyes shutting tight almost immediately afterward.

"Oh god..." Ken hissed, arms moving up to clutch at his forehead.

The swarm of Digimon began asking their master questions all at once, and very loudly due to wanting to be heard over everyone else. They were all so busy trying to outdo everyone else that they didn't appear to notice Ken wince harder and clutch at his hair.

"HEY!" Daisuke yelled as loudly as he could, silencing everyone in the room. "Shut up, you're just making his headache worse!"

Ken glanced at Daisuke for a split second, then winced once again and covered his eyes with his right arm. A groan escaped his lips and he turned his head away. The redhead sighed and went to go dim the lights, finding it disgustingly ironic that _he_ was the one helping the tyrant out right now.

"All of you out!" Wormmon urged as quietly as he could, shooing most of the other Digimon out of the room. "Orgemon, Funbeemon and Daisuke can stay, the rest of you go."

The other Digimon did as they were told and left the ward, Daisuke going over to the chair near the patient's bed. He sat down in it and opened the can of Pepsi he'd brought with him from the kitchen. After that he proceeded to take a long, deep drink of the beverage, setting it down on the nearby table once he'd had all he was interested in. It was then that he realized the tyrant was looking at him, and probably had been since he'd sat down. The other boy had a very... odd expression on his face. It was as though the Kaiser himself wasn't sure what kind of face to even make.

"Uh... yeah?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You... it's that... that you're so..." Ken seemed to strain for the thought in his mind. "You just make no sense at all." The sick boy finally managed to get out, a frown forming on his face. "To the point where I can't even figure out what else to say."

"Yeah well... right back at'cha, buddy." The redhead sighed, leaning his chair back onto the back legs and propping the back of the chair against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. "I've been thinking that since I first figured out who you were after the soccer game."

"What's not to get about me?" Ken asked, genuinely confused from the sound of it. He also seemed really out of it, as though it was hard to focus on anything at all. He was probably just too drugged up on pain killers. "I'm taking over the Digital World, that's a very simple concept to grasp."

"Oh I understand perfectly well _what_ you're doing." Daisuke was the one to frown now. "It's not the 'what', it's the 'why'. _That_, is what I can't understand about you. It's like you don't have a shred of humanity in you."

"Tch." Ken scoffed, sitting up slowly in the bed. "All that talk, and yet you didn't just let me die on the floor. Not to mention just a moment ago you got everyone to shut up, and even dimmed the lights for me. Just hate me or don't, this back and forth bullshit is making my head throb even more."

"You want me to hate you?" Daisuke asked and looked at Ken again, though the tyrant did not look back at him. "Is that your ultimate goal here, to be despised by all?"

"I don't care what anyone thinks." Ken laughed lightly, still rubbing his forehead and wincing. "You can hate or like me all you want, it makes no difference in the end."

"Bullshit."

"... what?" Ken looked over at Daisuke now, a glare on his face.

"I said _bullshit_." The redhead looked his enemy straight in the eye, a similar glare upon his face. He emphasized his feelings by putting the chair back on all four legs with a loud clank. "I know damn well that there are people you care about, no matter how hard you try to hide it. You have the ability to care, you just only extend it to those you see as 'worthy'. So what, then, do the creatures in this world have to do for you to see their very existence as 'worthy'? What do I have to do to be 'worthy' to you?"

Ken frowned, clearly pondering something over in his mind. He still seemed a bit distant, like it was more the drugs talking than himself. "Well," the blue haired boy began after a moment or two. "You're real. You're certainly not worthy, but at least you're real."

"Real enough to beat the shit out of?" The redhead found himself laughing at his comment, at the sheer truth of it. "And why do you just refuse to believe that Digimon _are_-"

"I refuse to have this discussion with you!" Ken faced forward now, at the opposite wall. Daisuke kept looking at him for a while, but eventually just sighed.

"Fine, whatever."

The room was silent for a bit, and quite awkwardly so. Maybe Ken wasn't as drugged up as he thought, and had simply been waking up before. He certainly seemed fully capable of pouting now. It didn't seem to be an angry pout though, which was what the redhead would have expected, but more of a confused one. At the very least he certainly was nowhere near as angry as he'd been before in the control room. It was more like he was trying to figure something out that was hard for him to grasp.

"So why did you help me?"

Daisuke snorted but held back the wave of laughter he immediately wanted to unleash at totally calling it, leaning back in the chair again. He couldn't help smirking a bit though, despite his best efforts. "I thought you couldn't give a rat's ass what a 'lowly insect' like myself thought."

"I just want to know!" Ken was clearly irritated now and faced him again. "So answer the question!"

"Why do you need to know so badly?"

Ken groaned in frustration. Daisuke had to hold back laughing yet again at how similar to a childish tantrum the gesture had looked from his perspective.

"Look," Ken began after a moment of silence. "It's just that, it's something I _don't_ know. I want to know, because I don't know it, and I don't care how that sounds to you. I also know that I'm not going to be able to figure it out myself because you're too damned confusing. It made sense for you to hate me, to want me to die and to fight me until the very end. That is how my enemy should act. However, you have somehow gone _even more_ beyond the reaches of my expectations. How am I supposed to work comfortably around here when I have no idea what to expect from you?"

"I thought you said that nothing I did made sense because I was stupid and a lowly worm." Daisuke rolled his eyes and still didn't look Ken back in the eye. "So what difference does understanding me _this_ time even matter?"

Ken frowned and sighed again. Daisuke was pretty sure he was just trying to find the right words. "It..." the tyrant tried after another second or two. "Doesn't... ugh, it makes me uncomfortable that you helped me when you shouldn't have! What are you up to? Are you planning something? There has to be some personal gain for you to have helped me."

"Ah, so it's paranoia-"

"Just answer the fucking question already!"

"... no."

Ken froze, having clearly not expected the simple reply. "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean, no." Daisuke took a quick swig of his Pepsi. If Ken wanted to know this so badly, he'd have to give him more of a reason to give it to him. It wouldn't be an easy task to try and tell Ken that no matter how much he hated him he still valued his life, and the tyrant would probably just get pissed off in the end. However, Daisuke did find himself curious as to the lengths Ken would go to get the answers he desired. Plus, it was hilarious to see him so worked up over it. "As in, negative, not at all, to the extent of zero, the opposite of yes-"

"I _KNOW_, what 'no' means!"

"'Coulda fooled me."

"Oh for the love of-"

"Don't even start with that Ken-"

"Don't _you_ start with-"

"Shut up-"

"Would you just get the Hell out of here Motomiy-"

"I'll leave when I damn well want-"

"Why did I even think you could have an intelligent conversa-"

"Apparently you're the one who's a dumb-"

"Would someone bring the fucking guards back-"

"I'll bring your mom back."

The room became still after that, the two angry boys glaring fiercely at one another. Sparks practically flew between their eyes, both too frustrated and lacking in patience by now to form any coherent words. The Digimon in the room looked nervously at them from the other side of the room.

And then, as quickly as the glaring had started, Ken snorted. Daisuke really didn't know what to do or say as the other boy covered his mouth to try and suppress the giggles rising in his throat. It was like watching him try not to cry from earlier, only this time it was due to laughter. Soon giggling became laughing, laughing became cracking up, and cracking up caused tears. Ken hid behind his hands, face burning with embarrassment as his body was wracked with hysteria.

"... and you say _I_ do random shit?" Daisuke finally exclaimed, eyes wide with confusion, which appeared to only make it worse. Ken's laughter got louder, and very quickly after that reached the point where no sound was even coming out anymore. "... what the fuck?" Daisuke really wasn't sure how long this went on. The only word that Ken spoke throughout the whole ordeal was something along the lines of "... stomach".

The redhead was left completely and utterly at a loss for words. He stared at his enemy, one eyebrow raised and his mouth gapped slightly. However, the tyrant's laughter did die down eventually and his breathing regulated. Ken's face probably should have turned less red by now, but he didn't appear to be calming down much in that area, obviously feeling extremely foolish for having burst into a laughing mess in the first place... and over a 'your mom' joke.

Daisuke couldn't help but chuckle a bit now, not really sure what to say, or if he should even say anything at all. Ken would probably just get mad and yell at him again or something, and seeing the other boy in such a state was... well, unusual for starters, but it was also... refreshing. A bit nice, in fact.

"Fuck you." Ken said suddenly, and Daisuke couldn't help but laugh outright this time. Everything about his tone of voice was pouty, and his hair was all knotted up, making him look downright silly. The expression the blue haired boy gave him in response to his continued laughter didn't help either. The redhead wasn't sure what word he was thinking... but it was just that he was... he was just so...

Cute.

"Again." Ken said, this time with a much firmer voice. "Fuck. You. And while we're at it, get out."

"Fine, fine, I'm going." Daisuke shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Had he just thought the Kaiser was...? Yeah, he needed to leave or something. It was just too stuffy in that room and it was fucking up his head. Some water and air from the balcony would clear things up for sure.

The redhead quickly finished off the rest of his soda and threw the can in the trash, shutting the hospital room door behind him. When he was out in the hallway, his mind wandered back to that thought... no... it didn't mean anything. Like he'd thought before, it was just too stuffy in there. The hallway was much nicer, and anyway, Ken had _clearly_ been just as drugged up as he'd originally thought. That's surely why he was acting so strange. Normally he'd never let Daisuke see him with his hair all messed up like that, or especially laughing his ass off at an immature joke. It was nice to see it though. Why couldn't he just be like that all the time? Hell, tangled hair and all! He'd definitely take messed up hair over psychopath any day.

Daisuke sighed and shook his head, then walked down the hallway towards the elevator. He really didn't want to think about any of this right now. Instead he planned to just go fry his brain on some video games and worry about all this Ken bullshit later.

* * *

"I bet he's beating him right now..." Iori growled, striking downward with his Kendo sword in an attempt to vent his frustration. Hikari sighed, though she certainly couldn't blame the child of Knowledge and Faith for being so upset. It's just that his anger appeared to be bringing everyone else down with him. Not that they had been particularly happy or anything, but she was of the opinion that they might as well _try_ to stay optimistic.

"Is Koushiro here yet?" Miyako grumbled and looked out the window yet again, and Hikari smiled a bit. The chosen had all met up at the Yagami household to discuss a plan with Koushiro. He'd sent them messages arranging the meeting a few nights ago, and now that very person was holding everyone up. Hikari didn't mind, and it was actually somewhat funny to see Miyako so impatient.

Then again, Iori was probably right. Ken could be beating Daisuke or something equally terrible, and here Koushiro was late for their meeting about how to save him...

It made the child of Light feel bad to know that she was feeling more upset at Ken for kidnapping her friend than she'd felt at him for hurting the Digimon. Killing innocent Digimon was certainly worse than kidnapping, and she'd been horrified at all the other things he'd done. It was just that this showed how little Ken cared about anyone in general. She had been willing to consider that Ken just didn't know Digimon were real before, and that he was just playing around with them. However, he knew damn well that Daisuke was real and yet here he was abusing him all the same. Was Ken truly... evil? She didn't know how to confront an enemy like that. She hadn't known how to confront them in the past either, but back then she hadn't had to lead anyone. Even if Daisuke was the "official" leader, the simple fact of the matter was that Takeru and Hikari held the most influence over the younger group, and Taichi over the older. It wasn't by choice, it was just that they had the most experience. Unfortunately that experience was now putting her in a position she didn't know if she could handle. Could she order the other chosen to kill Ken, another Human, if it came down to it?

Honestly she didn't want leadership at all. She just wanted all the evil to go crawling away and not put up a fight so that no one had to get hurt. Not that she expected it would _actually_ happen that way, but she could dream, right?

"There he is!" Miyako cheered and went to unlock the front door. A few minutes later the child of Knowledge walked inside and smiled at everyone.

"Sorry I'm late you guys."Koushiro bowed apologetically. "College is tough sometimes and I'm not always able to get out when I expected I would."

"It's alright, let's just get underway." Yamato offered and the rest of the group nodded. Koushiro nodded back and sat down, pulling his laptop out of his bag. After he booted it up, he turned the screen so that everyone else could see it. Hikari wasn't sure exactly what she was looking at, but it appeared to be a map of the Digital World.

"As you can see, that's the Digital World." Koushiro confirmed her thoughts out loud. "I've been doing a lot of thinking on the kind of person Ken is, and I think I've come up with a way to trap him."

"Trap him?" Sora asked with a frown. "You mean, we're going to take him as our prisoner?"

"Precisely." Koushiro nodded and pushed a button on his keyboard. Many of the squares on the map went black, and Hikari recognized it as a grid showing the areas that Ken currently controlled.

"While he's not going in any particular pattern..." The child of Knowledge continued as he pointed around the screen. "We also know where he won't be going; the dark areas. He's only going to be traveling to the white ones to try and conquer them. We also know that he's been gradually heading west, and that he's the type to take on the biggest challenges himself."

"So we should clear an area right in the middle of the sea of black, like we're challenging him." Taichi suggested, a few others nodding at the idea.

"I don't believe that would work." Koushiro pondered, frowning while looking at his computer screen. "Ken is very confrontational it's true, but at the same time he has an entire army on his side. He would probably just send Digimon from the nearby locations to take the area over again and attack us rather than travel all the way there himself. He might be a megalomaniac, but he's also practical, and I feel he values his time the most right now."

"That's... a good point." Taichi sighed. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"Of the areas that are left," Koushiro cleared his throat and pointed to an area on the map. "I've determined that this mountainous region here is the best protected, and therefore the most likely to be one of the areas he goes to personally to take over. Many of the areas he's taken so far were conquered by his slaves, so we need to find an area that he himself will find worthy of a challenge."

"A mountain would be great for a trap anyway." Takeru nodded from Koushiro's right side, and Hikari felt his hand squeeze hers gently. "There are plenty of blind spots we could booby-trap, and if we can get him down fast enough, he won't have enough time to put up a dark tower. That way the older group can help us fight too."

Hikari realized that she'd had a very sad look on her face for a while now, and that was probably why Takeru had tried to reassure her. She didn't mean to look so down all the time, but sometimes it was just so hard to be the light of the group. It made her feel overwhelmed, like everyone expected her to be perfect when she couldn't possibly be. However, Takeru always seemed to know how to break her out of it, and even with these thoughts in her mind, she couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, so we hit him from his blind spots and cripple him so he can't cripple us first." Jou confirmed with a nod.

"How long until we think Ken will reach that area?" Iori asked.

"Hmmm..." Koushiro pondered for a moment. "There's really no way for me to know yet, but I should be able to study his path a little longer and have an estimate for you in a few days."

"Then we should just start setting up right away!" Mimi exclaimed, everyone else getting ready to work on their new plan. Hikari was excited too, but there was also a part of her that was very nervous. Even with Takeru there, she just had a bad feeling in her stomach. There was nothing in particular she could think of that would make her feel that way, and normally she would have been excited to try out this new plan. However, there was something nagging at the back of her mind, warning her that somehow, in some way, this wasn't going to end up the way they were expecting...

* * *

The Kaiser swallowed hard, glaring at the door in front of him fiercely. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his eyes were narrowed sharply. He tapped his foot quietly, eyes focusing hard on the spot directly before him. He took a deep breath...

He could do this... there was no reason why he should feel nervous or unwilling to knock on a door. A door in _his own base_ even. He built and owned this entire place, so it was his right to be able to go into any room that he damn well wanted to, at any time, and without reservation.

The tyrant raised his fist for the third time since he had first reached the door and started to knock. His knuckles even almost made contact this time, but just like each time before, froze and jerked backwards at the last second. He growled and sighed deeply. After that he raised his fist up and tried again, this knock attempt ending up exactly the same as the previous one.

A curse escaped the blue haired boy's lips, right palm smacking into his forehead in frustration. This was just shameful... and utterly ridiculous while he was at it.

Suddenly the door flew open and Ken snapped up from his face-palming position. Sure enough the redheaded prisoner stood before him, though he didn't seem at all surprised to see the Kaiser in front of his bedroom door, which honestly just pissed the tyrant off even more.

"What?" Ken demanded in a snappy tone before he even realized that he'd done so, not entirely sure why he was so mad right now.

"That's... what I was going to ask you." Daisuke chuckled and leaned against the door frame, arms crossing. "You've been there for like, five minutes now..."

"H-How did you know that?" Ken sputtered, a strange warmth creeping up his cheeks.

"Well, your shadow under the door was the first indicator. At first I thought maybe you were a guard, but then you started cursing and I recognized your voice. I figured I'd wait and see what you did, but after five minutes I kinda thought you needed some help or something."

"O-Oh..." Ken blinked, the warmth in his cheeks increasing tenfold. He shook his head roughly after that and cleared his throat, wanting to just get this bullshit over with. "Anyway!" Ken began, trying to sound firm but really just feeling incredibly stupid. "There's something I want to discuss with you."

"... alright... shoot." The redhead seemed a little on guard while he spoke, though this didn't surprise Ken at all. He himself also felt very on guard, and he was still trying to piece together his thoughts well enough to figure out the reason. Why should he feel nervous around this fool? He was just a pitiful prisoner, he meant nothing to him, and yet he felt awkward. This was simply unacceptable. The redhead had already cause him enough turmoil as it was, he didn't need this added to it as well.

"Before, in the hospital wing..." Ken began, trying to form his words as correctly as possible. "I just wanted to make it clear that I was very much incapacitated on pain killers, and therefore was not in my correct frame of mind. So any particularly out of character behavior on my part that may have occurred meant absolutely nothing. You are not funny, not even to a miniscule degree, and I certainly do not see you as such. Therefore all of my actions during that time are invalid."

"... I... see." Daisuke raised an eyebrow, but the overall expression on his face was unreadable to the Kaiser.

"S-So anyway." Ken continued, once again feeling that awkwardness creep into his chest. It was foreign and strange, and very much unwelcome. He couldn't recall feeling awkward very many times in his life, most of the experiences having been from back when he was little. Though to be honest, he couldn't remember that very well either. "Just don't let anything go to your head. Your remark was just as intellectually lacking as you yourself are, and we will continue on from this point as though nothing of the sort ever happened, do you understand?"

"So..." Daisuke trailed off in thought, facial expression slowly relaxing. "You want me to pretend that you didn't laugh your ass off at my 'your mom' joke in the hospital wing because it makes you feel awkward and embarrassed that you did...?"

"I...!" Ken sputtered furiously, unintentionally taking a step back. "F-Fool, of course not!" He shook his head and stepped forward again, refusing to back away from his enemy, who sure had a lot of nerve saying such things to him! "I just wanted you to know that I wasn't myself at that time, so anything I did or said was-"

"Oh Ken-chan, it's okay to laugh." Daisuke suddenly broke out into a huge grin, much to the Kaiser's dismay. "I like your genuine laugh, it's cute."

Ken felt his eyes blink multiple times and his face contort into something he had no idea how to classify. Shock? Confusion? Fury? All of the above? He couldn't possibly have heard that right. If he was correct, and he was _always_ correct, then this pathetic little insect had just used the word... cute... as a descriptive word for him, _the Kaiser_. He must have simply heard the other boy incorrectly. Or perhaps Daisuke had meant another word but had a slip of the tongue? 'Cute' couldn't possibly have been what the prisoner was trying to-

"And that massive blush is rather cute too, Ken-cha-"

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" Ken felt his cheeks burn hotter, which made him even more upset, and getting more upset made him more upset, which made his cheeks burn hotter.

"Hey now, I'm just saying, and I mean, I'm not the one blushing my ass off and sputtering."

Ken growled furiously, turning away from the prisoner to take a deep breath with his back to the other boy. He just needed to calm down... the fool was clearly pushing buttons he didn't even know he had, and on purpose, to create an effect in him. He wasn't going to let him win his stupid game. Daisuke endlessly claimed that _he_ was the one who loved to play mind games... bah! Bullshit! That asshole had been playing mind games since the moment he'd set foot in the base, and it just got worse and worse every damned day!

Everything was fucking stupid right now, including this conversation. _Especially_ this conversation. Why was he wasting his precious time talking to this jerk? What constructive remarks or thought processes could he even provide to the Kaiser anyway? He had dark rings to work on, Digimon to enslave, areas to conquer... so why was he even thinking about this anymore?

Ugh...

"Look." Ken turned around, face serious and blush-free now. "Don't bring this topic up ever again under any circumstances, and that's not a question, it's an _order_. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Daisuke smirked, and Ken felt the desire to yell at the top of his lungs. Why was he smirking? He hadn't won some argument between them, and it wasn't as if he'd been humiliated by the redhead or that Daisuke had... well... gotten him to blush apparently - WHICH, while he was on that topic, was NOT due to embarrassment, but was due to heat! The hallway was hot and he was still sick, so it meant nothing. Or maybe he was having a strange reaction to the pain killers that were used. There had to be a logical explanation as to why he would do something as foolish and primitive as blush.

"... and I'm not cute!"

Ken was thrown off by his own sudden outward comment, confused as to why he'd said it at all.

"Okay Ken, if you say so." Daisuke's smirk was even larger now, and the boy was clearly trying not to laugh. "To answer your question, I was smirking because of your behavior right now, and if you say you weren't blushing because of embarrassment then alright, you can keep telling yourself that."

The tyrant blinked multiple times, face contorting back into that indistinguishable expression from before. Had... had he just said all of that inward rant... out loud? No way, he had only thought those things to himself! He hadn't... he couldn't have... he would _never_ have said all of that to his prisoner, no matter how angry he got. He was in total control over his actions at all times!

_'TAKE IT BACK!' He screamed and watched his prisoner cringe with pain as the whip was sent slashing into his side, cutting through the fabric and hitting the skin underneath._

_Blood on skin..._

_'You're real. You're certainly not worthy, but at least you're real.'_

Ken sputtered and turned around, shaking his head roughly once again to try and clear his thoughts. After that he took a deep breath, removing his glasses with his left hand and rubbing his face with his right. Deep breaths now... deep breaths... he just needed to calm down.

"Well, since you clearly have some issues to work out for yourself, I'll just leave you alone." Daisuke spoke up after a few moments of silence, cutting off the Kaiser's thoughts. "Oh and, don't worry, I won't bring any of this stuff up since you asked me not to. I hope you're able to figure out why you're blushing like a cute girl all by yourself, Ken-chan."

Ken turned around just in time to see the door shut, Daisuke having weaseled his way back into his room. The Kaiser fumed, glared, growled and gripped the glasses in his hand hard enough to break, though he made sure to loosen his grip just enough not to. His shoulder shook with frustration and he no longer cared how warm his face felt. That... this... complete... just... what did he... UGH! And he just kept on fucking saying KEN-CHAN! Always with the damned Ken-chan! He was clearly trying to insult him by indicating that he was endearing.

"Gah!" Ken shoved his glasses back on his face and stormed away, no longer wanting to be anywhere near anything even remotely resembling another Human.


	7. Perception

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 7: Perception

Author's Note: A lot of life-related things have been coming up with my previous editor (thank you TeamAbodo for everything you've done!), so a huge thanks goes out to 'Ine-capa' and 'DigiGirl101' for helping me with an already halfway completed story.

* * *

Ken was pissed, and for once it wasn't at Daisuke. No, this time it was directed at himself. It was rare that he couldn't blame someone or something else for his upsets, but right now he simply had to confront it; he'd fucked up.

How had he failed to notice something so obvious? All the time and effort he'd put into working on his new ring, and not once had it even crossed his mind that the Human host was still real in the Digital World. Sure, their bodies digitized upon traveling through the Gate, but that didn't mean they were made entirely out of data after that. Injuries, changes to the body, any sort of physical differences were carried back over to the real world, so there had to be some portion of their DNA that was still real. All this time he'd been using the programming for the Digimon rings as the base for his new one, and that had been his mistake. He couldn't use those codes, because Humans weren't Digimon, and Digimon weren't real.

The tyrant knew what this meant, and that was his real reason for being pissed off. More of his time would now be spent bullshitting around with Daisuke in the control room, yet again starting from scratch and trying to debug the ring when it didn't work the way he thought it would. Then of course on top of all that, Daisuke would make jokes, play around, insult him and just overall make his day as miserable as any other day spent with the boy.

Okay, so apparently there _was_ a portion of his anger that was directed at Daisuke. This was fine with him though, because it meant that he could still push some of the fault onto someone else. He preferred it that way, as he hated having to accept total responsibility for something. That indicated flaw, and flaw was imperfection.

The Kaiser groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. When had he gotten such a bad headache? Had it been there the entire time, or was it just now starting up? While he was at it, when had his stomach started aching so much? It felt like someone had punched him really hard in the gut, and there was a bit of nausea there too.

"Ke-Master, are you okay?" Wormmon's voice floated over to him, the nervous undertone in his voice almost tangible.

"I'm fine." The boy lied, clutching his stomach with his left hand and his head with his right.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Ken was confused by the question but thought about it anyway. He ate... well he hadn't eaten anything yet today because he'd been too concerned over his ring. He'd also been upset about it last night and hadn't eaten any dinner. So the last time he'd eaten was at 9am the previous day, and it was currently around 2pm. On top of that he suddenly realized that he'd never even changed out of his yellow pajamas or spiked his hair that morning. Hell, he hadn't even brushed it. All he'd done was brush his teeth, put on some deodorant and walk over to the control room.

"Breakfast yesterday, AND DON'T EVEN START, I KNOW that's over a day ago!" Ken shouted before the worm could even attempt to scold him. "I'm going."

The tyrant walked quickly past the annoying insect and out into the hallway towards the kitchen. He honestly hated eating, it was such a waste of time. He had things he needed to be doing that were far more important than shoving a sandwich in his face. He didn't get hungry very often anyway, just once a day. He'd usually eat a second meal regardless, but the past couple days... well, it just hadn't crossed his mind.

Oh well, at least the kitchen was only a few doors down from his control room. He could just go in, grab a box of crackers or something and get back to his-

Once the doors opened and he walked into the room, Ken felt his anger come back full force and his mood drop straight down into the toilet.

"Why are you everywhere I fucking go?"

Daisuke looked up at the tyrant from the stove, one eyebrow rising at him. After that he sighed, clearly not enthused about them being in the same room together either.

"_Well_," the redhead began as he directed his attention back over to the eggs in his pan. "I was minding my own business in the Digital World one day when a crazy psycho moron in a gay ass cape showed up, kicked my ass and dragged me into his base. Now he's apparently realizing just how much he dislikes my presence and enjoys bitching about it relentlessly, as though it's anyone's fault but his own."

Ken snorted a bit from the doorway. Everything about that comment had been just so... Daisuke.

The tyrant sighed and flopped down onto a chair, folding his arms on the table and lying his head down on top of them. After that he groaned and winced, his whole body aching. He'd gone a day without food many times in his life, but it had never made him feel this bad before.

Suddenly there was a clank next to his arms and he sat up, surprised to see Daisuke setting a plate of food down in front of him.

"You look as shitty as your personality is, eat."

"... _Thanks_." Ken replied sarcastically, eyeing the eggs, bacon and toast with strong suspicion. "Why are you eating breakfast at lunch time?"

"I like breakfast food." The redhead replied simply as he went back to the stove to continue cooking. "... and I _may_ have only just now woken up."

"Why should I trust any food you've cooked?" Ken continued, still not convinced. Daisuke suddenly walked over to the table, grabbed the fork out of the Kaiser's hand and stabbed a piece of bacon and egg with it. He ate the food off the utensil and then took a bite of the toast, tossing it back down onto the plate along with the fork. Ken glared at the food as the boy walked away, disliking being proven wrong. "If you think I'm going to use your-" The tyrant boy didn't get a chance to finish his complaint before a new fork was tossed onto the plate with a loud clatter, the redhead having clearly predicated that he wasn't the type to share silverware.

Ken sighed and gave in, too hungry to resist food placed in front of him right now. However, he was still proud enough to cut off the part of the toast where Daisuke's mouth had touched.

Silence fell between them as Ken slowly ate and Daisuke quickly made himself a new brunch. Under normal circumstances the Kaiser would have never allowed himself to eat in the same room as this fool, but he just didn't have the energy to go somewhere else right now.

Ken was about halfway done with his meal when Daisuke sat down across from him at the table and reached over to snatch up the fork he'd previously used, which Ken had left forgotten nearby.

They ate quietly, Daisuke going at a much faster pace. Ken just didn't like to eat in general, so why would he want to shove it in his mouth like that? Though he couldn't deny... Daisuke's cooking was very good this afternoon. He'd _never_ admit it to anyone, _especially_ not the prisoner himself, but Ken certainly couldn't have done better on his own, nor could his replicators.

... Not that Daisuke was better at something than him. Because he wasn't.

"Wow..." Daisuke trailed off after a bit. "I need to _not_ let V-Mon help me cook more often. Nothing came out burnt!"

"Where _is_ V-Mon?" Ken decided to ask, concerned with the unusual lack of an energetic blue ball bouncing around Daisuke annoyingly.

"He went to the bathroom to wash up after eating." Daisuke replied, munching on a piece of bacon. "You know how he eats... he was done before I'd even finished making mine. Well, yours now I guess."

"Great, he's probably breaking something." Ken seethed cynically.

"Oh, _whatever_." Daisuke groaned, waving his fork at the other boy. "You just love to find something to bitch about, don't you? It's just bitch, bitch, bitch, nag, whine, _bitch_ with you-"

Suddenly the redhead stopped and looked at him, eyes traveling up and down. He frowned and stood up to head over to the refrigerator. After that he pulled out a jug of water, pouring two glasses and bringing them over to the table with him. He set the larger one down in front of Ken.

"Why did you do that?" The tyrant asked, suspicion rising in his voice again.

"You look a lot paler than normal, which is really saying something, so I thought maybe some water would help." The prisoner took another bite of his food, chewing much slower this time. "What's up with you anyway? Why do you look so bad?"

"Why do _you_ fucking care?" Ken was pissed off and let it show. The redhead sounded just like his damned mother... and she was one of the main reasons he didn't want to leave the Digital World anymore.

"Ah, you're in one of _those_ moods I see." Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Fine, screw you and go die in a hole. That better?"

"Yes, actually."

Daisuke chuckled a bit and continued to eat, not bothering to reply. A few minutes passed before Ken decided to speak up again.

"To answer your pathetic question, the last time I ate was at breakfast."

The redhead didn't acknowledge him but he knew he had been heard. When Daisuke was done taking a drink of his water, Ken decided to continue. "... Yesterday."

"Y-Yesterday?" The redhead coughed a bit and raised both eyebrows this time, obviously very confused. "You mean like... you haven't eaten anything for a whole day? ... plus some?"

"Unlike _you_ I don't need to be shoving something down my throat at all times of the day to survive." Ken rolled his eyes this time, not wanting to deal with this conversation anymore. Why had he even answered anyway? He really should have seen this coming. Then again, why did the other boy even care? Daisuke never had explained that to him. Not that the redhead _ever_ just answered a fucking question straight up, there always had to be so much run around and...

And why did Daisuke have that look on his face?

"_What_?"

"You know..." Daisuke trailed off and laughed awkwardly, cheeks a bit red, which confused Ken further. "Just, what you said was..."

"Was _what_?" Ken really had no idea what the fool was going on about. Not that he ever did, but this time was particularly confusing.

"Shoving something down my throat at all times... it sounded pretty bad."

Ken stared blankly at his prisoner, not even the slightest idea of what he was talking about in his mind. Daisuke stared blankly back, clearly waiting for something that wasn't happening. Awkwardness rose between them, and after a few moments passed...

"God, you're just so _sheltered_." Daisuke groaned and leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands.

"How the hell am I sheltered?" Ken asked exasperatedly and threw his hands up in the air for emphasis. "I ran away from my protective parents to live in a base by myself and enslave-"

And then he got it.

"OH _GOD_!" Ken was simply horrified, and he knew it showed on his face. What was _wrong_ with that boy? Why would he think something like... just... ugh! Shoving things down his throat... "Why would I ever stoop so low as to joke about something that disgusting?"

"You're so proud aren't you...?" Daisuke trailed off, chuckling and releasing a sigh. "You know, pride isn't a good quality to have. It makes a person too selfish to do the right thing when it counts."

"Oh like you aren't proud." Ken rolled his eyes at the hypocrisy.

"Hey asshole," Daisuke pointed the fork at his enemy again. "I got down on my fucking hands and knees and _begged_ you to save my friends, so don't even try to say that _I'm_ the one who's too proud here."

Ken scoffed and drank more of his water. "Whatever, that was probably the best thing I ever did to you guys and you don't have to agree with me."

"Is that so?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow a little and smirked.

"What are you going on about now?" Ken glared across the table at his prisoner. What a retard... was this some kind of joke again? "Since you _clearly_ didn't understand what I was saying, it was just satisfying to see my enemy bow down before me-."

"So it satisfies you to have me down on my knees in front of you huh?" Daisuke smirked more. "I mean I know I'm pretty good in bed but that's a little kinkier than I care to go."

Ken felt himself freeze up and stare in horror at the other boy. The redhead suddenly dropped his fork and burst into laughter, shoving his plate to the side and doubling over onto the table. His face was in his arms, and his whole body shook.

Ken, however, was so horrified that for once he couldn't think of a smartass reply. Or anything at all, actually. He couldn't even get mad. It was as if the redhead's comment had wiped his mind altogether. The only thing he really registered was the overwhelming feeling of dread in his stomach.

"Y-You should've..." Daisuke managed to say through his waves of laughter. "You... you should..." And then he doubled over again after looking back at Ken, who was pretty sure his face had never been that warm before. "Oh god..." Daisuke tried again a few moments later, after taking a deep breath. "You s-should... should have... you-"

"_WHAT_?" Ken hollered with a fierce annoyance, cheeks surely beet red by now.

"You should have seen your _face_!"

Daisuke went back to burying his face in his arms, which were crossed on the table. Ken scowled, his face having mostly cooled down now. It wasn't often that Ken was rendered speechless, but this was just one of those times. Well... _actually_...

"It would have been more satisfying had you actually done it."

The redhead froze and got silent, sitting up in his chair a second later. He had a very confused and surprised expression on his face, and a slight blush on his cheeks.

Ken tried not to laugh, having wanted to play it a little longer, but he just couldn't keep up the act with his prisoner looking like that. It would have been nice to make him squirm more, but his body just wasn't going to let him. So he placed his right hand over his face and laughed into it. Daisuke seriously had the stupidest expressions he'd ever seen sometimes...

"Oh I get it, you'll easily make dirty jokes when it's at _my_ expense." Daisuke scowled at him, which just made Ken laugh more.

"Oh whatever." The Kaiser replied and shook his head after a moment, placing his hand back down on the table they were sitting at. "I-"

Suddenly the door to the kitchen burst open, and a soaking wet V-Mon walked into the room with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Um... I think something went wrong with the faucet in there... I was done using the sink so Wormmon went to use it and... well it's kind of flooding... it's clogged or something and we can't get the water to shut off now, and Ken's gonna be really pissed, and... O-Oh... uh, hi... Ken..."

Ken and Daisuke had stared quietly at the blue Digimon for a few moments, V-Mon looking extremely nervous. Then at the same time both boys cracked up, though Ken wasn't sure why he was laughing. Maybe it was because he'd been right, yet wrong at the same time. _Wormmon_ had been the one to break something in the bathroom, not V-Mon, which really wasn't shocking to him at all. He was just such a damned clumsy Digimon... of _course_ it was Wormmon. Or maybe what he found funny was the look of shocked terror on V-Mon's face when he only just now realized that the Kaiser had been in the room the entire time.

The Kaiser stood up and composed himself, deciding that he really didn't want to let fools like V-Mon or Wormmon try and fix anything without being monitored by-

Suddenly the room started to spin and his ears began ringing, a rush of dizziness wracking his skull. Ken grabbed the table with his right arm just in time to prevent himself from falling over, closing his eyes tightly and holding his head with his left hand. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard, pushing down the nausea that was rising in his stomach.

The sound of a chair being kicked back quickly echoed in his ears, and before he knew it someone was at his side. There was a muffled sound, but he couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Wha...?" Ken realized now that it was Daisuke next to him. Then, just as quickly as it began, it stopped. He was no longer so lightheaded, the room wasn't moving and his headache and nausea were gone.

"What happened? Are you okay?" The prisoner asked, having already placed a steadying hand on his shoulder and arm. "You stumbled like you were gonna fall over..."

"I..." Ken trailed off, not sure what had even happened. "D-Don't touch me!" The dark haired boy wrenched himself from the redhead's grasp and backed away, heat rising in his cheeks like before. "I don't need your help."

"Man... I try to stop you from falling on your face and you're _still_ an asshole to me." Daisuke crossed his arms and glared at his enemy.

"Whatever, I'm leaving." Ken exited the kitchen quickly, disliking the flustered feelings in his stomach and chest. It surely had something to do with whatever was causing him to feel dizzy, which he'd need to have the nurses look into. That, or it was his foolish prisoner's food, which was what he was personally leaning towards now that he'd thought of it.

Before he could make it far down the hallway he heard the other boy call out to him.

"Ken, wait!" Daisuke ran past him and blocked off the rest of the hallway. "Can I help you fix the sink?"

Once again Ken couldn't think of anything to say to that, not even something rude or sarcastic. The request was just so random that it was like it wiped all thoughts from the tyrant's mind. Why would Daisuke, his prisoner, request spending _more_ time with him than he was forced to endure? Especially when it was to help him with manual labor.

Ken eventually settled on the only reply he could muster; "...What?"

"I know it seems strange-"

"Well that's a fucking understatement-"

"But...!" Daisuke continued with a sigh. "Just let me, okay? If you do I'll... I'll stay in my room for the rest of the day and not leave or something. I'll only leave to use the bathroom across the hallway and I'll just use the replicators for food. It'll give you some time to work, and we can continue the ring experiments after that. You won't hear anything about me, talk to me, see me... anything at all."

"... you'll be completely out of my hair?" Ken asked slowly, trying to imagine what the boy's ulterior motive _must_ be. "For the entire day?"

"Yes." The redhead nodded firmly.

"What are you up to? I'm not falling for-"

"I'm not up to anything, damn it!" Daisuke threw his arms up in frustration, which confused Ken quite a bit. It was as though he was being... sincere... but that just _could not_ be the case! It couldn't be, there was no benefit to the prisoner in this deal at all, so there had to be something more to this situation that he was overlooking. "It's just that I know V-Mon was the one who broke the sink," Daisuke spoke up again and crossed his arms. "And seeing as he's too small to fix it, I feel like I should at least help you out. Now either take the deal or don't, but make up your mind."

Ken looked directly into the redhead's eyes and searched for... something. Any sign of mischief or foul play. Something that could possibly indicate that this wasn't really about wanting to help him... but after about twenty seconds had passed, there wasn't even a hint of hidden agenda lodged in those dark brown eyes. It was as though he really did just want to make up for V-Mon and Wormmon's mistake. Ken couldn't deny that he didn't want to do it all by himself... and he supposed that Daisuke was confusing enough to want something that strange.

But...

"Fine." Ken frowned and crossed his arms. "I'll let you, but I _swear_ Motomiya... if you pull anything, anything at all... don't make me warn you. Just don't even make me go there, because you _will_ regret it."

"Alright." Daisuke had a smile on his face now. A silence settled in the hallway, Ken waiting for the other boy to start heading towards the bathroom and Daisuke apparently waiting for Ken to do the same thing. The tyrant really didn't know what else to say now because this was all just so... awkward. And weird. And unsettling. And why wasn't Daisuke fucking _doing anything_?

"Well, are you _GOING_?" Ken snapped, refusing to acknowledge the blush creeping up his cheeks _again_. "You're in the way!" God he hated other people... just, all other people, the whole damned general thing. While he was at it, he also hated his skin that never used to blush but was now apparently going out of its way to fucking humiliate him as often as possible.

"Y-Yeah! Sorry..." Daisuke cleared his throat and headed down the hallway towards the flooding room, Ken unsure why the flustered feeling in his stomach had just gotten stronger.

* * *

Daisuke examined the sink carefully. For some reason turning the knob wasn't making the water shut off, and V-Mon and Wormmon had somehow managed to clog the drain too. So now water was pouring out of the bowl and onto the floor, filling the room with water.

Ken had instructed him to get down under the sink and turn the water shut-off valve. To be honest though, Daisuke had no idea what he was even doing. Not just in regards to fixing the sink either. Helping the Kaiser had nothing to do with wanting to make up for V-Mon's mistake, though he'd done his best to play it up as such. No, this was more about Ken himself.

He'd noticed how obsessed the tyrant got with his work, focusing on nothing but his codes for days and forgetting to sleep or even feed himself. Then he'd get sick and crash, force himself to eat and rest, and just do it all over again. Honestly the boy needed distractions and chaos in a day; something to take his attention off those damned computer screens. He just looked so weak and sickly when he did that.

More importantly though, Ken was much more tolerable when he wasn't obsessing with some project. Sure, in any case he'd get angry, yell, throw a fit and take it out on everyone else. When he was hungry and under rested though, he was... different. He'd push everyone away and isolate himself, act much colder and punish far more severely. He was actually a bit scary during those times as opposed to just annoying. So today was going to be the first test of his new theory; Chaos + Ken = Less Stress.

The redhead crawled down under the sink, water spraying on his head, and found the valve. He figured turning it to the right would shut the water off, so instead he turned it to the left. Fortunately his guess had been spot on. The water began spraying out twice as quick and couldn't make it out of the faucet fast enough due to the clog in the drain, so instead it simply broke through the pipes. Liquid poured out into the sink bowl and sprayed out through the bolts that held the pipes together at an overwhelming pace.

"Motomiya!" Ken exclaimed in horror. "You fucking idiot, turn it the other way!"

"Sorry!" Daisuke fake-apologized and then fiddled with it for a bit. If he pulled hard enough maybe he could break it off... "It won't turn!" He lied and pulled on it has hard as he possibly could.

"Wait, don't force it-!" Ken reached forward to grab him but wasn't quite fast enough, and the redhead snapped the valve off completely, water continuing to billow out of the faucet and pipes.

"... Was that snap the sound of you breaking it off?" Ken's stiff voice made the prisoner feel a bit nervous actually. He'd accomplished his goal, but what if his theory had been wrong? What if Ken beat the shit out of him now or something?

"Uhhh..." Daisuke crawled out and stood up, tentatively handing the valve over to the tyrant and rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. "Yes... yes it was."

Ken sent a chilling glare at the other boy and snatched it out of his hand. He quickly crawled down under the sink, Daisuke paying close attention to his behavior. After another minute or so the water stopped running and the room was no longer flooding. The tyrant crawled back out and stood up, completely drenched from head to toe in water. His hair stuck to his face and hung down straight. His pajamas clung to his body, which dripped down into the puddle on the floor around them.

Daisuke coughed and shook his head, unsure why he was suddenly finding it difficult to look away from the other boy and pay attention to the mess at hand. There was just something about the way Ken looked, all covered in water like that...

"God..." Ken groaned, voice getting pissed off. "You can't even fucking turn a knob the right way... really, I'm surprised you can feed yourself at all, let alone cook."

"Oh haha, it's just so funny." Daisuke rolled his eyes and sighed, but once again had to force his eyes to move away from Ken. It was really nice to see him looking so... just so... normal. There was also something really nice about way his clothes clung to his hips, how his skin glistened, and the way his hair stuck to his face.

Daisuke sputtered and coughed, turning away and looking at the nearby wall. He could practically feel the way Ken raised an eyebrow at his strange behavior creeping up the back of his neck like a spider. More than that though, he could feel that if he looked the other boy in the eye right now he'd probably break and laugh from awkwardness.

"You need a cough drop or something?" Ken asked with exasperation.

"I'm fine." Daisuke lied and the door opened suddenly, cutting through the embarrassing moment. Four Gotsumon walked into the room and Ken sighed with relief.

"Good, I was sick of dealing with this fool." Ken said at the Digimon, and Daisuke glanced over his shoulder. He watched as Ken directed them towards the sink. "You brought the scanners, right?" The tyrant asked. "Just examine the faucet knobs and figure out why they aren't shutting off the water.

The Gotsumon nodded and went over to inspect the sink, scanning and fiddling here and there. Daisuke watched them intently, refusing to let his eyes wander back over to where they really wanted to be. Besides, he needed to continue with his theory...

The redhead moved over to a nearby shelf on the wall, sliding his shoulder underneath it. When he was positioned right he shoved upward and caused most of the things on it to knock over and fall down into the puddle below.

Ken was startled by the sudden crash and gasped, standing up straight and whipping around to face him. The surprised expression on his face, the way his mouth was partially open, how his hair was clinging to his cheeks... there was just something nice about it. It was quite attractive actually.

"Do you need to leave?" Ken growled and Daisuke snapped out of his thoughts.

"M-Maybe..." Daisuke rubbed his face with wet hands, trying to figure out just what kind of fucked up flu virus he _must_ have contracted from this sink water. He was supposed to be causing chaos for Ken, not driving himself mentally insane...

"Well you know where the door is." The Kaiser sighed and turned back to the Gotsumon. "Seriously, go lay down in your room if you're not feeling well. You keep stumbling around like the moron you are."

... Attractive? Really? What was even remotely attractive about this... this...

Daisuke scowled and glared at the other boy's back. What a douche bag... always targeting his intelligence at every fucking turn. He wasn't stupid, and Ken wasn't going to make him feel like he was. Sure he wasn't a genius, and he really didn't care about school, but when he _did_ care about learning something he was very quick at picking up on it.

Feeling frustration overcome his judgment, he reached his hands down into the pool around his ankles and splashed a large spray of water at the other boy's head. Ken gasped and stood up straight once again, clearly shocked by the sudden cold liquid. He turned around just in time to get another spray sent at him, this time in the face. Daisuke laughed at the look on Ken's face. He couldn't help it no matter how much he knew he shouldn't have done it.

Before Daisuke even realized Ken had moved, the tyrant had kicked his foot and water sprayed on the redhead's face now. It got in his mouth and nose, and he sputtered and coughed.

"Ugh, foot water!" Daisuke spat.

"Serves you right." Ken crossed his arms. "You're the one who started-" Before Ken could finish though, Daisuke had scooped another armful of water and splashed it at the other boy. The Gotsumon continued to work at the sink as the splash-fest began.

Daisuke ducked and threw water at Ken again, who spun just in time to avoid it. As he moved, he reached his hand out and sprayed a wide splash of water across the room, which hit Daisuke right in the face. The redhead found a cup on the floor and picked it up, already filled with water, and threw it in Ken's general direction. The dark haired boy was too fast though and easily avoided the attack. After that he threw a wet rag that had been on the floor, which plastered itself to Daisuke's face. The redhead sputtered and ripped it off, gagging at the musky smell. Right as he pulled it off though another splash of water hit him in the head.

"God Daisuke, you suck!" Ken cracked up from the other side of the room. However, the redhead felt his body freeze up and his eyes grow wide. "What?" Ken asked a little bit later, apparently from the expression on Daisuke's face.

"Just..." The prisoner trailed off and scratched the back of his head again. "You've never called me by my name before. It's always been Motomiya, but you just said Daisuke."

Ken frowned, appearing to think about what Daisuke had just said. The room felt awkward after that, as though Ken was realizing that the other boy had been right. In Japan it was proper to call someone by their family name instead of their personal. Usually only friends, family members or significant others called each other by their personal names, and even then you were expected to ask for permission first. Now, Daisuke called Ken by his personal name _because_ it was inappropriate and he knew it pissed the other boy off. However, Ken had never once called him Daisuke before, because that would indicate them being equals or buddies. He was absolutely positive that Ken did not view them as equal or as friends... so why had he just said that?

"It... it was just a slip." Ken said angrily and looked away, clearly embarrassed. Daisuke looked away as well, unsure of what to say. Even if a stranger had called him by his personal name it wouldn't really have mattered that much to the goggle-head. He'd really never cared about being proper and following tradition as much as others did. With _Ken_ though... it was just different.

However, before things could get really awkward between them again, Ken gasped and shut his eyes tight. His hands reached up and gripped at his hair painfully, legs stumbling backwards. He had a dizzy expression on his face, and his knees were buckling underneath him.

Daisuke ran forward and grabbed the other boy around the waist, but he was already going down. Without any other option he let himself fall to the floor as well, rolling just in time so that his body would be underneath. They both groaned at the impact, the redhead's lower back and head hurting quite a bit from connecting with the cement floor underneath the puddle they'd just fallen into.

Ken seemed to have snapped out of it by then, opening his eyes and sitting up with his arms on either side of Daisuke's shoulders. His legs were between Daisuke's, and his hair was dripping water down onto the redhead's face.

"What's going on with you?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow up at Ken. "That's the third time you've fainted. Well, that _I_ know of anyway."

"I... I don't know." Ken seemed very out of it when he spoke. His expression indicated that he was trying to figure out what had just happened, and why he was leaning over his prisoner. Then he seemed to realize that he was... well, leaning over his prisoner, and the heat appeared in his cheeks. He leapt back and sat down in the water next to the other boy, rubbing his face with his hands. Daisuke sat up but didn't get back on his feet. Instead he watched Ken, having no idea what he should do or say now. What the hell was going on with that guy? Was something like, seriously wrong with him?

"Ken..." Daisuke searched for the right words to convey his thought without pissing the tyrant off. Eventually he realized that it probably wasn't possible anyway, so to hell with trying to be careful. "You really need to get looked at, and I don't mean by a Digimon. They don't know as much as a doctor in the real world would, so I-"

To Daisuke's surprise, Ken had his right hand over his mouth and was chuckling behind it. A genuine laugh with a genuine smile, and a genuine shake of the shoulders. The genius glanced up at the top of the prisoner's head and laughed again.

"What are you laughing at?" Daisuke pouted and crossed his arms, which seemed to make Ken laugh more. Had he even heard a word he'd just said?

"Your hair is so stupid..." Ken trailed off. "And then you start pouting and look even worse."

"Oh as if _you're_ any better!" Daisuke exclaimed and threw his arms up in frustration. "Look at your soggy snake hair, and you're still in your damned pajamas! I'm not the one who looks... _what_?"

"Oh please scold me some more, you look _so_ tough." Ken had trouble talking through his laughter, and after he'd finished his sentence he started outright cracking up. Daisuke imagined that he probably did look pretty ridiculous... trying to reprimand Ken while dripping with sink water and his hair most likely defying gravity. Ken really did look quite silly though, and the goggle-head found himself laughing at the entire situation now. He also couldn't help but smile, not from his own laughter, but from how nice it was to see _Ken_ laughing.

"Sir?" The Gotsumon cut them off nervously. "We fixed the sink, so all that's left now is to handle the water. We can do that if you like, but you should probably leave first." And just like that Ken stopped. His smile faded away, his eyebrows wrinkled, his fists clenched and his overall expression fell back into seriousness. After that he ruffled his hair, and like magic it spiked back up into its normal Kaiser-style. Was that some kind of strange Digital World effect? His clothes didn't change, nor did his whip or glasses appear, but the boy was clearly back into his Kaiser guise.

"Yes." Ken snapped, pointing at the Gotsumon. "Clean it immediately, and I'm going to go change. Make sure Wormmon is punished for this accident by the way; I don't want him thinking he got away with it. Don't bother me when you've finished either, just go back to your regular duties. I have more important things to do than deal with you."

"Yes sir!" All four of the Gotsumon bowed and quickly left the room to head for the nearest cleaning station. Ken turned to leave the room as well, not acknowledging Daisuke in the slightest. The tyrant would most likely continue with his Kaiser business now, alone in the control room. But as the tyrant got further down the hallway, the redhead felt an unexpected sadness growing in his chest; the kind one felt after losing a good friend and not knowing when they'd be coming back.


	8. Backfire

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 8: Backfire

Author's Note: I've pondered how to write this section for quite a while now, and settled on a shifting perspective drabble-esque style chapter. This means it will be jumping back and forth between Daisuke and Ken's point of view repeatedly, and each section will be pretty small. I don't know if I'll end up doing this again, but it's the only way to make this chapter work the way I want it to. Just in case you didn't know, "_esque_: resembling; similar to." Once again huge thanks go to 'Ine-capa' and 'DigiGirl101' for editing this chapter =)

* * *

Daisuke looked around the corner and spotted the two guards right away, standing firm and attentive in front of the control room. He knew they wouldn't let him inside under normal circumstances, but this was certainly not normal circumstance. He had an idea, and if it didn't work... well, he'd probably get yelled at. Nothing new.

Ken had randomly cancelled their morning meetings 'until further notice' and the redhead found himself wondering what the tyrant was up to, all cooped up in his dark control room. Had he made some new discovery on his dark ring? Or was he just getting so engrossed with his work that he was forgetting about everything else again?

"Hey!" The redhead stood in front of the guards and smiled. "Ken asked me to come to the control room today." The Gorimon guards looked at each other with confusion on their faces, Ken having surely told them the exact opposite. "I know Ken told you otherwise though." Daisuke continued. "He just asked me to come this morning over the speakers in my room, so he probably forgot to tell you."

The Gorimon once again looked at each other, shrugging this time and stepping aside for him to enter. The redhead grinned, trying to make it look happy rather than mischievous. He stepped slowly and quietly into the control room, which sure enough was completely dark aside from the monitors currently in use.

"Wormmon, I don't want to hear your whining right now." Ken's voice floated across the room, but the redhead ignored it and pulled a coffee mug with a lid on it out of his jacket pocket. Then he quietly reached around the side of the tyrant's throne chair and handed him the mug. The blue haired boy was clearly startled and stood up suddenly, nearly knocking the mug out of the other boy's hand.

"Here!" Daisuke handed it to him once again, ignoring the glare being sent his way. "I made you coffee this morning."

Ken didn't speak for a while, he just kept staring ahead at the boy he hadn't seen in a few days. Daisuke smiled sweetly and nudged the mug forward again. Ken gave it a suspicious glare, but he eventually reached out and took it. He looked completely confused and on edge, which was exactly what the redhead had expected.

"Okay well, see you later then!" Daisuke closed his eyes and gave one last smile, turning around and walking towards the door. Once he was outside the control room he picked up his pace and got ready to sprint...

"MOTOMIYA!"

Daisuke booked it, wondering how long it would take the guards to catch him.

* * *

Ken typed at his keyboard, eyes firm on the various numbers and letters in front of him. He was determined to finish all of the re-coding on his new ring before attempting any further testing. He didn't see any point in wasting his time having Daisuke come to the-

Oh that little shit.

The Kaiser growled as he remembered earlier that morning. That stupid redhead had come in, pretending to have made him coffee, and then ran for it when he got caught. Why he'd even opened the mug in the first place was beyond him... maybe he just really liked coffee. Of course, coming from Daisuke, he should have _assumed_ it was a stupid prank.

"Fucking... fake snakes." Ken scoffed, almost _laughing_ at how retarded it was. Was he four years old at heart or something? Only elementary school kids put spring snakes in mugs, not someone in High School! Then of course the fool had tried to run away, as though that was going to help him or something. Of _course_ he'd been caught and thrown in the dungeons for the three hours. What had he been _expecting_? That'd he just-

A knocking sound cut off the Kaiser's thoughts, head automatically turning towards the direction of the sound. The back door? Why the back door? Everyone knew he kept it locked and that only the front door with the guards was accessible...

"Front door!" Ken hollered, shaking his head and already feeling like his patience was gone. Granted, he was still probably a little pissed off over-

Another knock.

Ken sighed in frustration but kept his cool, once again informing whatever dumbass was at the back door that the front door was the correct entrance. He wasn't going to get up for them, especially if they were too stupid to understand his directions. He had things to do right now, which were all far more important than-

Another knock.

"Oh for the love of...!" Ken walked angrily over to the door and unlatched it, throwing it open in frustration. He'd been ready to yell at anything standing outside, but was thrown off when he was met with nothing. No one was in front of the door or even down the hallway. He closed it slowly and locked it again, a confused expression on his face. Had he been hearing things? Had something just gotten knocked over and hit the wall? Or maybe something upstairs and fallen down onto the floor...

Ken wasn't sure, but he didn't want to deal with it right now. He headed back over to his keyboard to continue working on his ring, feeling a little on edge. Not that he was going to admit to anyone else that he was feeling that way. At least he'd made quite a bit of progress on the ring that day and he was anticipating being able to test it again in just a few-

Knock, knock, knock.

The Kaiser growled and stomped over to the door this time, all previous thoughts now forgotten. He threw it open, but once again was met with nothing. He stepped out into the hallway and looked both ways, but just as before, saw nothing but metal walls and empty hallways.

With an angry growl he went back into the control room a few moments later and slammed the door shut, but didn't lock it this time. He figured they'd wait a bit to knock again, as they'd want to throw him off, but with his hand hovering over the doorknob, he knew he'd be ready when it happened...

* * *

The prisoner walked quietly down the hallway, box held firmly in his arms. As the redhead passed the hallway that lead to the control room's back door, he couldn't help wondering how long Ken had surely waited for him to knock a 5th time the previous day. He didn't know for sure that the tyrant cared enough to wait, ready to throw the door open and catch him, but he just... had a hunch. Of course, he never did knock again.

He continued down the hallway, turning the familiar corner and walking right up to the guards. They crossed their arms and stepped in front of the door.

"Hey, I have a package for Ken." Daisuke explained calmly, working hard to keep his voice steady. "Wormmon was supposed to deliver it but he's busy."

"How do we know you're telling us the truth this time?" One of the Gorimon asked, a suspicious expression on both his and the other guard's face. They were clearly a lot more aware that Ken _really_ didn't want him in there, and Daisuke had an intuitive feeling that it had involved a lot of yelling.

"Well, you can ask Wormmon yourself if you want, but from the sounds of it Ken wanted this package right away... he might be mad if you don't let me in."

The two Gorimon cringed, appearing to remember very well what Ken was like when he was angry. Explaining firmly that if he did anything strange he'd be in trouble, they stepped aside for Daisuke to enter. He thanked them politely and opened the door, walking into the control room. He also made a point of turning the knob slowly enough that Ken wouldn't hear him enter.

The boy tiptoed into the room, thanking whatever had caused his luck to be good enough that he'd chosen to do this when Ken was so focused on his work that he hadn't notice him in the slightest. He set the box down on the floor and opened it, reaching inside and grabbing two of the four objects he'd placed inside.

With a smirk on his face, and still crouched down, he threw both of the water balloons as hard as he could across the room, hitting the tyrant perfectly in the back of the head and right shoulder.

The blue haired boy gasped and jumped to his feet, spinning around in shock. Daisuke had already grabbed the other two balloons and rose to his feet quickly. For a moment they stared at each other, but when the redhead saw the Kaiser's arms begin to shake with rage, he quickly ran backwards and threw the last two balloons at the ceiling, water spraying down on Ken like a sprinkler. He'd originally intended to just throw them straight at him too, but at the last moment he thought Ken might catch them... and that would have been most regretful.

Daisuke spun on his heel and burst through the front door, the guards already chasing him before his name began echoing down the hallways.

* * *

The redhead crossed his legs and looked up at the thick chain holding his cage up. Ken had actually gone through with his threat of hanging him over the pit in the generator room, and even made a point of making the cage he put him in as small as possible. There was just enough room to sit and stand, though no positions were comfortable. Apparently he'd be there for seven more hours, making a total of eight.

Well, one thing was for sure, Ken's hair flattened very easily with water.

* * *

The Kaiser sighed and rubbed his forehead, a headache crawling up his skull. There was just too much to do, and too little time to do any of it in. Why couldn't anyone have figured out how to clone themselves by now? Maybe he should try doing that next. Then something would actually get done around the fucking place without a certain _someone_ interrupting him every damned day!

No, he wasn't going to think about that little shit head right now, he refused. He was pretty sure the guards outside the door _fully_ understood what the rules on Daisuke being in the control room were now, and if they didn't, it wasn't a huge problem. He'd programmed his security monitor to beep anytime Daisuke's tracker entered any of the nearby hallways to the control room, so even his worthless guards couldn't-

Speaking of beeping.

Ken felt his whole body tense up at the sound, as though he was about to be dunked in ice water. Apparently it had gotten to the point now where just knowing Daisuke was in the general vicinity made him overwhelmingly stressed out. He needed a fucking vacation... he felt the desire to escape even more as he watched the little dot on the map get closer to the control room, eventually stopping in front of the front door. Now, normally he would just trust his guards to keep the prisoner out. However, that just wasn't going to cut it this time. He fully expected them to fall for yet another trick.

Ken growled and marched over to his front door, standing right in front of it and crossing his arms. He made sure to be out of range of the door when it opened, but close enough that he'd be right up in Daisuke's face the moment he weaseled his way inside.

The boy waited, glancing over at his monitor every now and then, hating now tense he felt. Why was he letting this one boy get to him so badly? Daisuke had no power over him, no means of persuasion, especially not after the bullshit he'd been pulling lately.

Sure enough, after only a few minutes, the door slowly creaked open and the goggle headed prisoner came slinking in.

"Hello, Motomiya." Ken seethed, arms still crossed over his chest. "I see being confined to a chair sized cage and hung over the generator pit for 8 hours just wasn't enough of a punishment for you. Shall we make it 16 hours this time?"

Daisuke's eyes met perfectly with Ken's and he seemed at a loss on what to do. He opened his mouth to talk, made a small sound and then closed it again. It was then that Ken noticed the very large and painful looking bruise on Daisuke's shin. Had he gotten that during a scuffle with the guards or somethi-

_'Daisuke gasped and cried out in pain when he was kicked harshly in the shin by Ken's heavy duty boots.'_

Ken felt his arms lower a bit, and his composure stumble. Right... that bruise was from him. A-And deservingly so! The stupid boy shouldn't have brought up his brother like that, so he completely deserved what he got. Foolish prisoner, he'd kick him again if he had to.

After another very awkward moment or two the redhead slinked out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him, having never said a word during the entire encounter.

* * *

Daisuke waited patiently for V-Mon, crouching and peering around the corner that lead down the hallway where the control room was located. If he actually stepped into that hallway then Ken's "Daisuke alert" would go off and everything would be ruined, so he had to be careful.

If all went well though, his tracker signal would be replaced with Andromon's location, and Ken wouldn't know when he was nearby anymore. It was honestly amazing to the redhead just how easy it was to tell the slave Digimon that Ken had said this or wanted this or that, and they'd totally believe it. Well, maybe not the control room guards anymore.

V-Mon had "informed" Andromon with an "official letter" that Ken wanted to switch Andromon's location on his monitor alarm with Daisuke's. Obviously he had some "important business" for Andromon soon and he'd need to know exactly where he was. Andromon, clearly happy that his master was going to "have an important project for him soon", decided to help them out.

The goggle boy watched carefully, and a few moments later he saw V-Mon's head appear around the corner on the opposite side of the hallway; the control room in between them. The little blue Digimon grinned and showed his partner the boom box and large speakers in his hands. Daisuke nodded back and no longer peaked down the hallway. He stayed crouched down, waiting for the signal.

Almost immediately after he'd looked away loud music began blasting down the corridors, which seemed to shake the very walls around him. He jumped to his feet and sprinted away from the hallway that lead to the control room's front door, and instead headed down the hallway that would take him to the back doors. Once he was there, he pressed his ear up to the crack between the two doors and listened hard.

"... are you doing? ... out there and figure out... hell is going on!" Ken's voice was clearly angry, and he heard footsteps quickly leave the room. It wasn't time yet... minutes passed, and he heard Ken's voice again.

"... can't fucking do anything right... you _mean_ your fingers are too big to push the buttons? ... it myself you piece of... fucking believe this shit!" Then there was the sound of the front door being thrown open and slamming against the wall behind it, and Daisuke quickly shoved the key he'd "borrowed" from Wormmon's cell into the backdoor key hole. It worked, and the door opened.

He peered inside slowly, and when he saw that the room was empty he quickly raced over to the control panel that Andromon had said he needed to find. Once he found the right spot, he shoved the floppy disk into the opening. He didn't have to wait too long before a box popped up, asking him to confirm the changes to the tracking signals. He pressed okay, and a loading screen appeared.

"Come on... come on...!" Daisuke hissed impatiently, glancing at the front door that had been left ajar.

The loading bar quickly reached the end, and a confirmation that the transfer was complete came up. He hit finished, wrenched the disk out of the slot and sprinted straight for the back door. A second later the door was shut and locked again, the boy racing quickly down the hallway in the opposite direction of where Ken was at. As long as Ken had no reason to check his control room's security cameras, he'd never have to know.

* * *

Ken jumped and stood up quickly, nudging his throne chair with his leg in the process. He looked around the room rapidly, hand clutching his whip so hard his knuckles were white.

"Haha, I know right?" Came the sound of one of the guards from outside the room, and the Kaiser took in a deep, long breath. It had just been one of them bumping into the wall, that's all it was... nothing was happening, his guards were just stupid and too loud. That, or Wormmon had done it. He was in the back of the room cleaning his computer parts after all, and he could have dropped something.

"SHUT UP!" Ken hollered, silencing everyone nearby. Wormmon jumped from the back of the room and gasped. It didn't matter who had made that bump damn it, just as long as it didn't happen again. No more noise, no more talking, no more _anything_!

"... ugh." Ken leaned against his control panel and shut his eyes. He was too stressed out, he just needed to take more deep breaths and get more sleep tonight. Instead of four hours he'd get eight, and he'd lock the prisoner up in the dungeons or over the generator pit for the entire day, just to ease his nerves.

The Kaiser went to sit down, but found nothing to be under him and landed flat on his ass. He immediately looked at his security screen, expecting to see Daisuke's location dot right outside the control room... but this was not the case. Daisuke appeared to be in one of the hallways on the second floor doing... whatever he was doing.

_'I just nudged the chair when I stood up, that's all...'_

Ken lay down on the floor and covered his face with his left arm.

"Ken..." Wormmon's voice floated gently over to him. "You should go to bed, just finish up whatever you're working on tomorrow."

And for the first time since he'd built the base, Ken decided to listen to the worm.

* * *

The sound of pots and pans banging painfully and loud obnoxious singing echoed all over the walls as V-Mon went tearing down the hallway. As he ran past the control room, he threw one of the pots at a Gorimon guard's face, giggling manically and continuing along his way.

The redhead peered around the corner and watched the guards in front of the front door give chase, swearing angrily and disappearing around the corner. A few seconds later the newly placed back door guards went skidding down the same hallway after the other Gorimon and V-Mon. Then came what Daisuke had been waiting for; Ken storming out through the control room front doors and running after them, having no idea what the hell was going on.

Daisuke ran as fast as he could into the now empty room and threw the whoopee cushion onto Ken's throne chair, which was purposely colored the same as the chair itself. The goggle boy then ran out through the back doors, locking it as quickly as he could with the key he still had. Before the backdoor guards could return, he sprinted down the hallway and out of sight. He'd surely get caught when Ken checked the security cameras, but it was going to be so worth it.

* * *

Both boys glared at each other, Ken fiddling with the buttons on the tracker around the other boy's wrist. He pushed some keys on the control panel, entering codes and commands as quickly as he could.

The tyrant found himself feeling paranoid and confused about many things that had been going on recently, so he decided to check the security cameras from the past week earlier that morning. It hadn't surprised him even one bit, everything that Daisuke had apparently done. Not even him managing to fuck with his tracker signals shocked him, and it really should have, but it just didn't. This boy was not someone to take lightly when it came to causing mass confusion and an overall lack of production. It was like he just radiated pure and utter chaos without even having to try.

However, when the boy _did_ try it was even worse, and seeing exactly how he'd done it was something else entirely. It wasn't even that any of it was well thought out either, because it _wasn't_! Yet somehow it all just worked out perfectly, and Ken had fallen for it every single time. It was as though it was the very fact that it was all so simple and obvious that caused Ken to be utterly unable to predict the redhead's stupid ideas.

Daisuke rolled his eyes and looked away, but didn't seem genuinely upset. It was more as though he was bored, which the Kaiser believed fully, considering how long he'd been in the generator cage this time; he'd even slept there overnight. Daisuke had complained and cussed, but Ken hadn't cared then and he still didn't care now.

The computer beeped, confirming that the data transfer was done and that Daisuke was correctly linked to his tracking program. Andromon would no longer register as Daisuke's location on the map and vice versa.

"Out with you!" Ken growled, grabbing the boy by the arm and shoving him towards the front doors. Daisuke tripped in the process though, Ken having shoved a bit harder than he'd intended, and fell to the ground.

_'Daisuke groaned painfully as his head hit the concrete below. He clearly felt dizzy and sick from the blow. He winced and seemed to be trying to push the nausea in his stomach back down.'_

_"You're real. You're certainly not worthy, but at least you're real."_

_"Real enough to beat the shit out of?"_

For the first time that Ken could even remember, he felt guilt creep up his stomach and settle in his chest. Maybe... maybe he really had gone too far. He reached out to help the boy up for a moment, but wrenched his arm back at the last second. Why would he help this fool? It was his own fault that he'd been kicked to the ground before! He didn't need to explain himself, the boy was an _idiot_! He chose to bring up Osamu and insult him! Speaking of which, he never _had_ punished Daisuke for doing that, he'd just been so busy with other bullshit that-

"You okay...?" Daisuke asked, having stood up now.

"J-Just go away!" Ken yelled, shoving Daisuke the rest of the way through the door and slamming it behind him, making sure to lock it before the other boy could try to re-enter. However, the prisoner didn't seem to make an attempt, his footsteps getting quieter as they proceeded down the hallway until they were gone entirely. Ken sighed slowly, leaning up against the front doors. No one else was in the room with him and he was very glad for that.

Maybe eleven hours of sleep was needed...

* * *

The redhead clutched the sling shot in his hands, bowl full of soft fruits nearby as he watched the kitchen doors carefully. The hallway was silent, the two guards outside of Ken's bedroom not making a racket for once as they waited for their master to finish with whatever his morning routine was. He could often hear them laughing from the kitchen, as the two hallways were very close to one another, but not this morning. Not that they would ever leave their post, but with Ken in the room they had to watch what they said a lot more. Enslaved Digimon still talked with one another and told jokes, because the ring didn't necessarily make them emotionless. Their basic personalities were still there, it just caused them to feel as though serving Ken was the only worthwhile thing in life.

Daisuke knew that Ken would either enter the kitchen to get breakfast or he'd pass by it on his way to the control room; in any case, Daisuke would get his chance to strike.

Sure enough the kitchen doors opened a few minutes later and the dark haired tyrant stepped into the room that Daisuke was waiting in. Before he even had the chance to realize that his prisoner was there, a tomato went streaking straight for his chest and splattered all over his pajamas. Ken coughed and sputtered, wiping the tomato goop off his face.

Daisuke grinned, but it didn't last long. As his eyes traveled over to the sink, he realized that anyone could pull the faucet hose out and spray it across the room. V-Mon had done it once actually, so it was totally stupid on his part that he'd overlooked that little detail.

Unfortunately he didn't think to act casual fast enough, and Ken realized what he was gawking at. He quickly grabbed the "weapon" with his right hand and turned around.

"Your dumb little sling shot won't compare to a hose, fool." Ken growled and a jet of water was sent shooting all the way across the kitchen towards the redhead's face. Daisuke dove down and managed to get behind the counter island in the center of the room, making sure to grab his bowl of ammo. Ken ran forward and got behind the island as well, but on the other side. The hose barely stretched far enough for him to make it, but nevertheless it _did_, and that was all that really counted.

Daisuke stayed crouched down and ran around the right side of the counter, from his perspective. He'd grabbed another tomato from the bowl before he'd moved and was now loading it. Then, as quickly as he could, he stepped around to the other side with his weapon pulled back.

Water and tomato flew at the same time, the fruit sailing over the jet of water. Both boys were hit, Daisuke falling on his ass as water filled his mouth and Ken swearing as another splat of red juice covered his chest and face. Daisuke ran back to his side of the counter and shook his head, getting the water out of his eyes.

He grabbed a handful of blackberries from the bowl, but before he could load them Ken had ran around the other side of the counter and sprayed him hard in the back. Daisuke quickly laid down on the ground under the jet of water, pulled back his sling shot, and sent 15 berries flying. Six of them hit the jet of water and were sent sailing off in random directions, but the other nine hit Ken in random spots. Two on his face, one on his chest, three on his shoulders and the other three on his shoes.

The tyrant growled again, his pajamas thoroughly stained now. Daisuke grabbed his bowl and ran to the other side of the counter, where Ken had been at first. He saw the hose stretched across the kitchen, tipping him off to where Ken was. However, a better idea popped into his head. He set down his sling shot into the ammo bowl and, as quietly as physically possible, climbed up on top of the counter. He found Ken almost instantly.

The tyrant yelped as he was flattened to the floor, the redhead on top. Daisuke grabbed the hose and tried to wrench it out of Ken's hand, but the dark haired boy was very strong. Water sprayed all over each of their faces as they struggled, Ken refusing to let go of the trigger apparently.

It was then that Ken's Judo skills shone through, and Daisuke was sent flipping over the other boy's head and flat onto his back a few feet away. Before he could even get up, Ken stalked over to him and pointed the hose straight at his face. Daisuke curled up into a ball and was drenched for quite some time. He covered his face with his arms and breathed into the air pocket he managed to create for himself. After about twenty seconds, Ken let go of the faucet trigger and the water stopped spraying.

Daisuke slowly looked up at Ken, who was panting just about as hard as he was. His hair was sticky with fruit, while Daisuke was drenched head to toe with water.

"_You_," Ken said, still panting. "Are in _so_ much-" However, the tyrant didn't get to finish his statement because as soon as he took a step forward, his boot slipped on a piece of tomato and he was sent crashing to the floor below. He gasped and squeaked in surprise, landing right next to Daisuke.

The redhead burst into laughter. The sound Ken had made when he'd fallen, and the _way_ he'd fallen had just been so... graceless. He was a bit surprised when Ken started laughing too, still lying flat on his back on the cold floor.

The two boys were unable to stop themselves for quite a while. Daisuke really wasn't sure why Ken was laughing, but he wasn't going to complain about it by any means. It was really nice to see a positive emotion in him. It was just like before in the bathroom; the two of them lying in a messy heap on the floor, both cracking up, and Ken's hair so drenched in water and (in today's case) goop that it was lying flat next to his face. Daisuke felt accomplished actually. If he kept this up, he might get Ken to laugh more often on his own.

"Uuuugh." Ken sighed and ran a hand through his hair, sticky goo clinging to his fingers. "I _just_ took a shower you douche bag."

"Oh don't worry," Daisuke laughed and rolled onto his right side so that he was facing Ken. "You smelled bad anyway."

The tyrant turned his head to face the other as well, a look of exasperation in his eyes. It didn't hold any real strength though, because only a few seconds later his face broke into a smile again; one that Daisuke couldn't deny was downright gorgeous. Even Hikari's smile just didn't compare to this. On top of that, his hair was stuck to his face and his pajamas clung to his body just like before in the bathroom. And just like before, Daisuke found himself unable to look away.

The goggle-boy fell speechless on the floor, all of his previous thoughts wiped from his head. It was like every millisecond that he spent looking at Ken erased a little more of his senses. He tried to figure out what the feeling in his chest meant or what he should do about it, but nothing came. He felt his eyes travel up and down the other boy's body, and by the time they made their way back up to his face, there was only one single idea that he could grasp onto. It tugged at his mind and body relentlessly, with more strength than he could fight. And in the end, it won.

Before Daisuke even realized that he was moving, his eyes had closed and his lips were on Ken's. His left hand moved up to lace through the other boy's soft, wet hair, and he tilted his head a bit so that he could get a better angle from their positions on the white tiled kitchen floor. He felt Ken freeze and tense up, but he also did not stop him. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Daisuke pulled his lips back and went back into it, deeper than before.

Hearing a soft sound escape Ken's throat encouraged the redhead, and he slowly rolled the other boy over. Without breaking the contact, he moved his upper body on top of Ken's, and his right hand slid under his back. He felt his entire body, from head to toe, begin to tingle with butterflies. He was shaking a bit, but even so he pulled back to take a slight breath and then press their lips together again.

Ken's back arched slightly, to such a small degree that the boy on top barely noticed. When he did, however, he moaned and pushed his lips down firmly. His left hand gripped more of the sticky hair, and his right hand moved down to the other boy's lower back. His lips were shivering, but the only thing on his mind was going further. He felt the rest of his body move to rest on top of Ken, and their hips pressed together lightly.

The tyrant suddenly froze like he had when it first started, a sharp intake of air hissing between their mouths. Ken's eyes opened wide, and he shoved the other boy upward so that his arms were fully extended. Daisuke looked down at the shocked expression on Ken's face, and his mind began working again. He felt his own body tense up and his eyes widen as well with the realization of what he'd just done. What he'd done with his _enemy_. His mind went blank again, but for a totally different reason this time.

Ken suddenly let go and gripped at his hair, his eyes clenching shut. Daisuke quickly caught himself with his arms so that he didn't fall on Ken, and watched as the other boy curled up into a ball beneath him and whimpered. He appeared to be in pain or was really dizzy; possibly both. It was like all those times before when he'd randomly stumble and get sick or something, only this time he'd started out lying on the floor.

"Ken?" Daisuke put his confusion aside and asked in a concerned voice. "Hey, are you oka-"

Ken's right fist connected hard with his face and cut him off before he could finish. Daisuke stumbled to the side, nearly losing his balance in the process. Pointlessly so, because immediately Ken used whatever Judo skills he possessed to flip him over his head and crash down onto his back. The redhead let out a surprised yelp and slid across the tiles a bit, bumping into the wall. He clutched the wound on his face and cringed with pain, pulling his hand away from his cheek to check for blood. There wasn't any, but the pain was intense.

Before Daisuke could sit up, Ken's shadow was cast over him. The boy on the floor looked up and into the tyrant's eyes, which were now alight with fury.

"W-What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Ken hollered, his voice cracking a bit. Daisuke realized then that both of them were shaking. Daisuke stood slowly, his legs still shaky.

"I... I was-"

"Answer me!" Ken cut the redhead off and shoved him backwards right as he had made it back onto his feet. Daisuke stumbled and his back slammed into the wall, nearly making him fall back over. He felt his chest fill with frustration and his body move on its own as he stomped back over to the tyrant. He got right up in his face, not caring what sort of consequences may arise from his actions. He felt the urge to punch the dark haired boy back tugging at his tightly clenched fists.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Daisuke screamed at the top of his lungs, unable to stop himself. "Maybe you should figure out why you're moaning into it before you start yelling at me for doing it!"

Ken was clearly not expecting that retort. His eyes widened and his mouth opened a bit to reply, but no words came out. He closed his mouth and opened it again, but once again was unable to speak. Daisuke had clearly won with his words; something that very rarely happened. Ken finally settled on glaring, his cheeks turning red and he clenched his eyes shut again. His fists were shaking just as much as Daisuke was.

After a very awkward and angry silence, the tyrant turned around and left the kitchen without another word. He didn't even look back, merely disappearing around the corner and down the hallway.

Daisuke didn't move for a while, hundreds of thoughts swimming around in his mind. Finally though, he let his hand move up and his fingers lightly rest on his lips. Ken did have a point... what the _fuck_ had he been doing? Had he gone absolutely insane or something? Was all the chaos he was creating starting to mess with his head? He was supposed to be causing _Ken_ panic and confusion, not himself too! He was the one making the jokes here, the one pulling the pranks. How had it backfired in such a way as to cause him to _make out_ with his sworn enemy?

Daisuke put his right hand over his forehead, a headache starting to creep up his skull. No matter what was going on, he did know one thing for sure; the joke really wasn't on Ken this time.


	9. Tension

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 9: Tension

Author's Note: I had to raise the rating of this story to M due to some thin ice I walked on in this chapter, and the even thinner ice I will be treading later. I don't know if it will become outright explicit yet, but if it does then I will post the uncensored version to my AO3 account (of course I will provide a link to it for you guys). Anyway, thank you Ine-Capa and DigiGirl101 for beta reading this chapter!

* * *

"Daisuke, catch!" V-Mon's voice echoed down the metal hallways. The redhead looked up quickly and was barely able to grab the orange that his Digimon partner had thrown high in the air at him. V-Mon scurried further down the random hallway that they'd chosen to play in, bouncing energetically as he waited. Daisuke pulled his arm back and chucked the orange as hard as he could, trying to get him with a fast one. V-Mon managed to catch it anyway though, most likely hyped up on sugar.

"Haha, good catch buddy!" Daisuke grinned. He readied himself, knowing that V-Mon was going to try and catch him off guard. After all, whoever failed to catch the orange was the one who had to make lunch. The redhead was actually considering letting V-Mon win though, so that the food wouldn't be a burnt, rubbery substance. On the other hand he was feeling particularly lazy that morning and-

Footsteps approached, both Daisuke and V-Mon turning to face the direction they were coming from. Far more to the goggle-boy's dismay, it was Ken who rounded the corner a few moments later. Daisuke's eyes moved away and settled on the nearest wall immediately. He fiddled with his thumbs, tapped his foot and tried to act like he didn't care or... something.

An awkward wave of butterflies filled his chest and he had to clear his throat and swallow hard to keep it under control. He made a point of doing so as quietly as possible though, with the hope of Ken not hearing it.

Right when Ken was just a few feet away from him, about to pass him in the hallway, Daisuke looked up without meaning to. His eyes just kind of darted over to Ken on their own. He was going to force them away but then he really noticed the other boy's face. Ken was looking straight ahead, clearly making a point of _not_ returning his gaze. His facial expression was completely emotionless, and the way he walked was much stiffer than normal. He must have really been going out of his way to not acknowledge the redhead in the hallway with him.

Daisuke let his eyes remain on Ken and his head turn with the tyrant as he continued down the hallway and around the corner, eventually disappearing out of sight. He wondered if maybe he should have said something...

"You okay Daisuke?" V-Mon's voice cut through the redhead's thoughts suddenly. "That was... weird."

"Eh, _Ken_ is weird." Daisuke forced a grin and got back in a ready-to-catch position. V-Mon laughed, appearing to fall for his partner's sneaky topic change.

* * *

The hallways were eerily silent as the goggle head made his way through them, his footsteps echoing louder than they normally did in the mechanical base. The lights weren't actually dimmer, but for some reason it felt particularly dark today. Maybe it was just because it was so unusually quiet and he was all by himself. Or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him because he was nervous about going near Ken's bedroom...

Daisuke adjusted the box under his right arm with his left, steadying it better. He had no idea what was inside it, so he had to assume that it was extremely fragile to be sure he didn't break anything. At least it wasn't awkwardly shaped and difficult to carry or something.

The end of the hallway was just a few feet away and the boy slowed his pace, stopping right before he turned the corner. He sighed and shook his head at his own behavior. Come on, why was he psyching himself out when all he was going to do was set a box down in front of the Kaiser's door and then walk away? It even had a note from the Gorimon guards folded on top of it so that he wouldn't have to explain anything himself. They couldn't leave the control room doors after all, and apparently Ken 'needed this given to him right away'. Since they had no idea where he was at right now, they said his bedroom was the best bet.

The boy rounded the corner and reached Ken's room. He leaned down and set the box on the floor, standing up and smiling at the still closed door. Then he turned around to head back down the hallway.

The redhead yelped in a startled surprise when someone was standing directly behind him, nearly falling on his ass as he stumbled backwards. His foot tripped over the box and his back slammed into Ken's door. Daisuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, settling his heart rate.

"Ah..." The redhead coughed as he straightened himself and cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head while Ken waited for an explanation. "B-Box, here." He pointed down at the brown package on the floor, a small dent in the corner now from him accidently kicking it. "The Gorimon n-needed me to bring it. Oh, the note. There, on the top. O-Of the box, I mean."

Ken blinked a few times, Daisuke's stammered gibberish clearly not adding up very well.

" Gah!" Daisuke took a deep breath and spoke very slowly and clearly, frustration in his chest. "There is a note on the top of the box from the Gorimon guards. They cannot leave their post so I brought it. I have no idea what is inside."

Ken slowly picked up the note from the top of the box, as indicated. He scanned it a few times and sighed. After that he leaned down and picked up the box, standing back up straight. After that he appeared to wait for something. Daisuke didn't say or do anything, his eyes moving over to Ken's slightly darker cheeks. Was he... blushing? N-No, of course not. Why would he blush? Maybe it was just the strangely dark hallway casting shadows in weird places.

Ken suddenly shook his head and snapped with frustration. "Well, are you going to _move_? I need to get into my room to drop this off, and you're standing in front of the damned door!"

"O-Oh!" Daisuke walked very quickly away from the doorway, the Kaiser, and everything to do with this situation in general.

* * *

"Motomiya."

Daisuke glanced up from his handheld game towards the television screen where Ken's communication video had opened up. He raised an eyebrow after that as an acknowledgement, waiting for his captor to hurry up and tell him what he wanted.

"Come clean up this horrendous mess in the kitchen immediately," Ken's voice was strained and Daisuke could tell that the tyrant was trying very hard to mask it. "I'm not dealing with this bullshit."

"The kitchen was clean when I left this afternoon." The redhead had considered being belligerent, but decided he'd rather not get literally dragged in there by the Gorimon guards.

"_I_ made the mess!" V-Mon glared at the screen, apparently deciding to get belligerent in his partner's place. "Don't just assume it was Daisuke before you've even checked your security cameras."

"I'm not falling for it!" Ken growled viciously, though Daisuke wasn't sure why he was so pissed off. Then again, he was probably still fuming about... certain past events. "Motomiya, if you're not in here within five minutes you'll be hanging over the generator pit!" Daisuke groaned as the video shut off, his television screen going black. Great, after getting the silent treatment now he was apparently going to be used as a stress relieving punching bag.

The redhead stood up, setting the video game down on the bed, and headed out into the hallway with V-Mon.

"What's his deal?" V-Mon fumed. "I _told him_ that I was the one who made the mess, and it's not like that's so hard to believe or something! I make messes all the time... why is he still punishing you?"

"He's..." Daisuke wasn't sure what he should say to his partner. "Just pissed off at me for something I did before. You know how he is, unable to move on from stuff."

The two of them continued down the hallway in silence, the small blue Digimon once again appearing to be successfully misled by his human partner. Before too long they reached the kitchen and Daisuke opened the double doors, stepping inside with his Digimon partner. Immediately he froze though, his eyes widening and staring around the room.

Most of the cupboards and drawers were opened, the dishes and silverware scattered about. Glasses were broken, plates were in halves lying in various places, a lot of the forks and spoons were bent, and there was food on the walls. The door on the opposite side of the kitchen was jammed from the looks of it, and would no longer close all the way. The sink hose was pulled out and lying on the floor, water dripping all over the room. And right next to them, leaning against the main entrance door frame, was Ken.

"V-Mon, what the _hell_?" Daisuke couldn't think of anything else to say as he turned to stare at his partner with a raised eyebrow, Ken glaring down with unsuppressed fury at the small blue Digimon. Both boys crossed their arms at the same time and waited impatiently for the Digimon to give a reply.

"I uh..." V-Mon shifted from foot to foot, clearly nervous about the fact that both Ken _and_ Daisuke were against him. "I-I was just playing a game... I mean Daisuke, all you wanted to do was play your stupid video games! You ignored me-"

"So your game was tearing up the kitchen?" Ken spat viciously, cutting the Digimon off before he could finish.

"That wasn't my _intention_!" V-Mon rolled his eyes. "It just... kind of... happened! I wanted to see if I could run faster than I could throw, so I took a plate or whatever and threw it as hard as I could across the room, and then I tried to run and catch it! It uh... turns out I'm _not_ faster than I can throw..."

"It took you fifty attempts to realize that?" Daisuke covered his face with his right hand in disbelief. Ken removed his glasses and took a deep breath, looking upward at the ceiling to apparently try to keep himself from snapping.

"No!" V-Mon defended vigorously. "I realized it after three throws! I was just having fun I guess... I ended up running into the door too and now it's all messed up. I tried to clean up the food on the walls though! The hose just didn't reach..."

"_Well,_" Ken's attempt to keep his cool didn't seem to last very long. "Let's see just how _fun_ you find cleaning up this mess all by yourself and then sitting in the dungeons for the next 24 hours!"

" I really can't defend you here buddy." Daisuke sighed and shook his head.

"Hey!" V-Mon looked back and forth between the two boys quickly, a frustrated expression on his face. "Ken was going to make you take all the blame for it and I stood up for _you_!" The little blue Digimon's face narrowed into a scowl. "And you said he never moves on from anything... hah, _you_ were sure wrong weren't you, Mr. 'Siding With The Enemy'?"

Daisuke closed his eyes and stiffened up, feeling Ken's glare burning into the side of his face from his position nearby. He opened his eyes and glanced upward, releasing a very long and drawn out sigh. After that he swallowed and turned to face the other boy. Just as expected, Ken's glare practically penetrated his eyes sockets. Dark glasses or not, there was no mistaking the emotion on Ken's face right now.

Daisuke really had no idea what to say, as Ken probably figured out that his 'not moving on' remark had been in regards to their uh... kitchen incident from before. In fact, it had been this same kitchen that it had taken place in. V-Mon continued to glance back and forth between them from his much shorter position on the floor. His indignant expression quickly turned into an obvious confusion, not a clue in his mind of what he'd just brought up.

"What?" The little blue Digimon asked after another bout of awkward silence had passed. "Oh come on, whatever you did couldn't be _that_ bad Daisuke. I'm sure it could be a lot worse, right? So let's all just calm down or something."

Daisuke glanced down at his partner with a pleading expression. He sincerely hoped that the little Digimon would catch on to his 'please shut the fuck up' hints.

"What happened though?" V-Mon continued, completely oblivious. "Maybe I can help! Tell me tell me tell me! What did you do to him? Was it funny?"

"V-Mon... please stop talking..." Daisuke heard his own voice come out of his mouth a little higher than usual, the nervousness in his chest making itself quite obvious. He refused to look over at Ken again and see if his expression had changed at all.

"I mean," V-Mon continued, to his partner's dismay. "Whatever it was couldn't have been that bad, right? It happened during your sling shot fruit fight that you told me about didn't it? What...? Why are you both looking at me like that?"

The redhead would have even been willing to bet money that his skin had turned noticeably paler. He refused, absolutely _refused_ to say anything. There was no way in the fiery depths of Hell that he was going to actually answer the little blue Digimon. Especially considering how stiff and frozen his own body felt, as though he probably wouldn't be able to talk even if he tried.

"... are you guys okay?" V-Mon raised an eyebrow and backed away a bit. "I was just trying to-"

Suddenly the kitchen door slammed and Daisuke whipped around, body having loosened up from being startled so badly. Ken must have stormed out or something, because he was no longer in the room with them...

"Ken!" Daisuke hollered down the hallway after he'd ran out into it. The tyrant didn't stop moving though, appearing to be heading back towards the control room. "Ken, wait!"

To the redhead's surprise the Kaiser actually stopped walking, but did not turn around or say anything. "Look..." Daisuke spoke up before the other boy could try to leave again. "V-Mon doesn't know what happened, he wasn't rubbing it in your face or something. He was just being silly and said some random stuff, that's really all it was."

Ken still didn't turn around or speak, but he continued to stand still in the hallway at least. Daisuke sighed loudly and shook his head.

"Come on, can you just fucking reply to me already?" The redhead was getting annoyed now. "This silent treatment is old. I get that you're pissed off but you have to take some responsibility for it too, it wasn't all _my_ fault."

"Are you kidding, or are you just _that_ stupid?" Ken finally turned around and gave the redhead a disgusted look. "How was it my fault at all? _You_ initiated, _you_ didn't stop, and _I_ had to punch you to get you off of me!"

"... WHAT?" Daisuke felt a large rush of anger flow through him now, his voice getting louder. "You were the one arching your back and _moaning_ into my mouth! Don't you even _try_ to shove all the blame onto me!"

"That is a bold face lie." Ken said with a completely straight face even as Daisuke recoiled in frustration. "The only one who did any _shoving_ in this matter..."

"Oooooooh, my fucking God." Daisuke growled as Ken continued to talk, ignoring the redhead's insert.

"... was you, when you forced yourself onto me."

"You pompous, lying," Daisuke began, stomping over to the tyrant with his fists clenched. "worthless, slithering, two-faced piece of shit!" The goggle head got right up into the other boy's face. "I can't even believe you're trying to do this! You opened your mouth and kissed me back, pushed yourself up into me and moaned like you wanted it! Confront it asshole, _I_ have to and I don't like it either!"

"As if you didn't like it! You fucking _started_ it!" Ken shouted and clenched his fists too, refusing to back down even an inch. "And then you grabbed my hair and got on top of me!"

"I never said anything about what I did or didn't do!" Daisuke shouted back. "This was about _you_, and _your_ part in it! Or better yet, what you _didn't _do, such as stop me or-"

"... **WAIT**!" V-Mon gasped at the top of his lungs, both boys turning to look at him in surprise. "Wait, wait, wait... you guys _kissed_ each other?"

"You are seriously the dumbest creature I have _ever_-"

"V-Mon it's not like that!" Daisuke cut off Ken's rude comment, a deep blush crawling up his cheeks. "It was totally horrible and accidental-"

"_DAISUKE_?" V-Mon cut his partner off in return, his eyes widening practically to the size of plates. His mouth dropped wide open and he blinked rapidly. "_WHAT_? I thought you only kissed the ones you love, that's what you told me before! This doesn't make sense at all!"

"I-I know V-Mon!" Daisuke gripped his forehead with his hands and he started to feel dizzy from this overwhelmingly confusing situation. "It doesn't make sense to me either!"

"I'm so done with this shit." Ken growled and stormed back down the hallway. "V-Mon, clean up the damned kitchen and Daisuke, stay out of my sight, I hate your face."

"Oh yeah, _real_ smart Ken!" Daisuke hollered back down the hallway as loud as he could so the other boy would hear him. "You '_hate my face'_, I bet that took you a whole _half a second_ to come up with! Got any more amazing comments, genius?"

"How humorous it is to have my intelligence questioned by a slithering insect." Ken's voice was the last thing that rang through the hallway before they were out of earshot, Daisuke growling at the top of his lungs in frustration.

"So... kissing is like punching?" V-Mon scratched the top of his head, appearing to be thinking out loud. "Like, you give people you care about a light punch on the shoulder to say 'hey buddy', but you also punch your enemies. So you can kiss anyone basically?"

"No... no V-Mon..." Daisuke rubbed his face with his hands, his voice strained and muffled. "You only kiss the ones you love."

"So you love _Ken_?"

"No! I don't love Ken!" The redhead threw his arms up in the air. "I love Hikari!"

"_Then why did you kiss him_?"

"_I DON'T KNOW_!"

The hallway was finally silent, a loud ringing settling in Daisuke's ears. V-Mon looked confused beyond the ability to form any more words or thoughts now, and Daisuke really couldn't blame him... the poor Digimon had barely understood what a kiss was before anyway, and now he'd just made it so confusing that his partner would probably never understand it. How the fuck was he supposed to explain this to V-Mon when he himself was confused beyond comprehension anyway? Nothing made sense, his head hurt, he was starting to feel dizzy, Ken was being a huge asshole, the base sucked, he wasn't going to clean up the mess in the damned kitchen, and fuck everything.

Daisuke turned on his heel and headed as fast as he could for his bedroom, his footsteps echoing in his ears. V-Mon didn't try to stop him or say anything as he retreated, probably too busy trying to make sense of all this to bother.

* * *

"Any sign of Ken yet?" Takeru asked Hikari quietly from the school's computer room, Miyako and Iori scouting in the Digital World for any signs of Ken. Koushiro had done a very thorough inspection and pinpointed the best entrance into the mountain area. Ken would surely pass between the two largest peaks, and at that point the electric net they'd spent a week making would entangle the tyrant and anything with him. If he was physically there, then it would paralyze him and any Digimon guards nearby, or if it was something mechanical, then it would drain the energy from it. Either way they'd have him trapped.

"Not yet." Hikari sighed, dragging the mouse around to make the map move, looking all over the area. "I'm worried... what if Daisuke gets hurt during the attack?"

"Hikari... any attempt we make to save him is going to put him in danger." Takeru looked at the girl and frowned sadly, wishing he could comfort her more.

"I know, it's just hard for me." The girl next to him suddenly had a sadness radiating from her eyes. She stopped working at the computer and her eyes fell down into her lap. "I'm..." She started, seeming unsure about what she wanted to say. "I know that I'm needed in the Digital World to help protect it, but... but I just hate fighting and making tough decisions so much... I... I guess I wonder why I was chosen, is all."

"Hikari!" Takeru placed a hand on her shoulder and turned the chair to face him. "You were chosen because you're so caring! You keep us strong with your light and how hard you work to protect us. What would we do without you? You're being too hard on yourself..."

"Taichi says that a lot." Hikari gave a grim smile, not even a shred of happiness on her face. Then she frowned, appearing to think about something. There was a silence between them, Takeru unsure of how he could cheer her up. Before he had a chance to make an attempt though, she spoke up again. "I envy Daisuke so much."

"Huh?" The child of Hope gave a confused frown.

"He's so strong." Hikari looked up at Takeru finally. "If our places were switched, if it were me captured and him trying to save me, he'd never get depressed like I do... he'd just say, _'don't give up guys, we can do this!_' or something like that. He'd mean it too, it wouldn't be the forced enthusiasm that I have. I wish so much that I could do that..."

Takeru looked into her eyes for a bit, trying to read her emotions. Hikari... she was the main reason he'd realized that people with the biggest hearts, the most light and the best intentions also harbored the largest and most terrifying demons. By nature she was a shining ball of light who should be able to break through any amount of darkness, except that the darkness she had to face was so much stronger than the ones normal people fought against. The contrasting shadows in her heart drained her, and it hurt him to watch it day after day.

"It'll get better." Takeru smiled, believing in his words fully. "Once we get Daisuke back, and we _will_ get him back, we'll beat Ken and save the Digital World. Then there can be peace again Hikari, but you have to believe in that too. You have to _actually_ believe it. I mean come on, it's not like Ken can do anything to _Daisuke_ anyway, he's way too stubborn. I bet Ken's so tired of him by now, he's ready to pull his hair out!"

"Yeah..." Hikari seemed to cheer up a bit, genuine happiness in her face finally. "Yeah Takeru, you're right. I'm sorry for being such a downer." A laugh escaped her lips finally. "I bet Daisuke's driving him totally crazy in there."

"Oh you know he is! I can hear Ken's screaming from here practically." Takeru laughed and the girl followed suit, the mood lightening drastically. After that he placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned back to the computer, a small smile still on her lips.

The child of Hope forced himself to ignore the sourness that had been filling his chest during most of their conversation, one that stemmed from the possibility of Hikari having stronger feelings for their leader than for him. He would not acknowledge it or let it control him though. Jealousy was poison of the worst kind, and it had no place in his life. No matter what happened he wouldn't let it taint his friendship with Daisuke, even if she didn't choose him when that day finally came.

* * *

Daisuke sighed and stared up at the metal ceiling. He hadn't seen the other boy since the previous night, not even in his usual places. Chances were pretty high that the Kaiser had locked himself in the control room or something in order to avoid him. Not that he was much better... he'd been going out of his way to avoid the other boy as well. Deep down he knew it wasn't the right thing to do though. He needed to confront this and start figuring out what the fuck was going on. Who was Ken to him? Why had he kissed him? So many god damned questions... Well, for starters, Ken was a tyrant that was trying to destroy the Digital World along with everything in it, and someone he'd sworn to defeat with the Chosen. Yet here he was, able to roam the base with relative ease, and instead of spending his time stopping Ken from making any progress, he was helping him be less stressed and making out with him. What the hell was he _doing_?

The redhead's finger tips reached up to touch his lips and a blush crept up his cheeks. Regardless of all that stuff... that had been his first real kiss. He'd dated a few girls in the past, but they'd only ever shared a kiss on the cheek. After a while the inevitable point when his girlfriend would want to go further than elementary school levels of affection would come up, and he'd always be unable to do so. He'd think of Hikari in those moments and how he wanted to save all of that for her, and sooner or later, the girl would break up with him for not moving on. He didn't blame them either, because they deserved better than that.

_'I... I didn't even think of her...'_ Daisuke took a shaky breath in as he finally confronted the truth he'd been avoiding since all of this confusion had started, a cold shiver settling in his chest. _'She didn't cross my mind at all when I went to kiss him.'_ While he was actually willing to confront this topic finally, the only thing he had managed to consider about her at that time was how her smile paled in comparison to Ken's. So... again, what was Ken to him now? They weren't friends by any means, but he really couldn't consider them sworn enemies anymore either, because enemies didn't help each other. So were they rivals that had feelings for each other? _Did_ Daisuke have feelings for Ken? Was that why he had kissed him? But... he loved Hikari...

The redhead put his face in his hands and groaned loudly. If he was someone like Taichi he'd probably be able to figure out what was going on in his head, but it was all just too much for him to handle alone. He didn't even have anyone he could talk to about it, because V-Mon was so confused he could barely stand up straight anymore, Ken wasn't going to be any help in this matter, the other Chosen would surely be furious with him even if he _could_ manage to get a hold of them, and...

Daisuke's hands slowly lowered and rested next to his torso on the bed, his frown turning much sadder. The others... he'd betrayed them. No matter how much he wanted to believe that he was being too hard on himself, he knew deep down that it wasn't true. What he'd done... could they forgive him? Would he ever even tell them about-

Daisuke felt anger spike up through his chest as the memory of his last interaction with Ken came to mind. That... that just... complete... ugh! How could Ken have forgotten about his own encouragement during their kiss? No, he hadn't forgotten, he was just denying it publically. Ken knew damn well that he'd liked it, he was just being a jerk now.

_'I liked it, too...'_ Daisuke felt the blush on his cheeks come back with a vengeance. _'I don't like Ken at all, he's an evil, crazy bastard, but that kiss was incredible. And damn it!'_ He growled angrily to himself as he stood up from his bed. _'If I'm willing to confront that, then he has to also!'_

The redhead stormed out through his bedroom door, slamming it behind him. He reached the hallway with the control room entrance quicker than expected, the enraged adrenalin in his chest seeming to move him faster than normal.

"Move!" Daisuke shouted as he reached the guards, refusing to back down. "Let me in, now."

"Are you a complete moron?" One of the Gorimon exclaimed. "You know we can't let you in, and we _will_ shoot you first!"

"I need to talk to that jackass in there, now get out of my way!" Daisuke clenched his fists and got ready to try and sprint between them. He believed fully that they'd shoot him like they said, but maybe if he was fast enough he could get through the door before they could get a good shot.

"No, we won't disobey orders!" The other Gorimon guard shouted back at the boy. "You've gotten us in enough trouble already, now go away."

"God damn it I'm not leaving until you let me in!" Daisuke prepared himself, taking a small step back to get some momentum. "Now get the hell out of my-"

"Let him in." Ken's voice rang over the intercom in the hallway, the sound of the control room doors unlocking echoing down the corridors. Both guards and Daisuke blinked a few times in confusion. Nevertheless, he slowly stepped through the doors and shut them behind him. The moment he was inside, the sound of the control room doors locking automatically echoed just as loudly inside the room as out in the hall. Ken had apparently installed these sometime in the past few days, because Daisuke was pretty sure he would have used them before during all of his trouble making.

The redhead stood by the doorway, unable to think of what to say now that he was actually there. The control room was completely dark, one monitor lit up in front of Ken's throne chair that the tyrant was still sitting in. It showed the security feed for the hallway right outside the room, the guards mumbling to each other and shuffling back into position.

Daisuke cleared his throat and took a few steps forward, stopping right in the middle of the room. Right... he was there because Ken was being a coward and trying to deny that he'd encouraged Daisuke during their... incident. It was bullshit, and he wasn't going to allow it.

Daisuke opened his mouth to speak when Ken rose to his feet, and whatever he'd been about to say was wiped from his mind. The Kaiser turned around and leaned against the panels nearby, looking the other boy straight in the face. When Daisuke still didn't speak, the tyrant sighed.

"So." Ken started, glaring at the other boy. "You create a huge commotion in the hallway and distract me from my work, so I let you in here to explain what your problem is, and you choose _now_ to shut the hell up?"

Daisuke glared, the words he'd wanted to say coming back to him now. "It pisses me off that you're denying what happened between us!" The redhead started, letting his words flow freely. "I-I mean... not that something is _going on_ between us..." Possibly too freely. "It-It's just that _whatever_ happened before, you had a part in it too!"

"Is that so?" Ken asked in a very bored tone of voice.

"Yes that's so!" Daisuke sighed exasperatedly. How was he going to make Ken confront this, exactly? He really hadn't thought this through at all...

"Well you're a moron, and you're wrong. You can go now."

"Why did I expect you to be anything less than a complete coward about this?" Daisuke was more pissed off now than ever before after Ken's rude remark. He just didn't take this seriously at all did he?

"Excuse me?" Ken clenched his fists in irritation, which made Daisuke grin. He sure took _that_ seriously didn't he? Well good! The jackass needed to show some fucking emotion already.

Ken took a step forward and closer to the redhead. "How _dare_ you call me a coward-"

"Ichijouji Ken!" Daisuke cut the other boy off, yelling at the top of his lungs. "You. Are. A. Coward! A huge fucking coward! Look at you, pretending that nothing happened like a child!"

"That's because _nothing happened_!" Ken yelled back, clenching his fists. "You are a fool, my enemy, and on top of all that, a _boy_. Why would I have wanted anything to do with-"

"You think it's different for me?" Daisuke cut the tyrant off. "_You're_ a huge _jackass_, my enemy too, and it's not like you're any less of a boy either! But at least I'm not hiding behind a huge sack of denial!"

"So you're gay then?" Ken asked accusatively, crossing his arms in front of his chest and continuing to lean against the panel.

Daisuke opened his mouth to shout insults but caught himself before he'd made a sound. No... he wasn't going to just angrily deny everything like Ken was doing. He needed to stay true to himself or he'd be just as blind as his enemy. "I..." The redhead started, trying to find the right words. Were there really any 'right words' though? The only thing he actually _knew_ right now was that he _did_ like girls. He'd liked them before their incident and he still did now, but as for males... it was just so confusing. He'd never liked another male before in any way other than friendship. However, he had genuinely enjoyed kissing Ken before in the kitchen and being on top of him. He was pretty sure he'd still enjoy it now, if it happened again. The idea of doing that with any other guy though... well, it wasn't appealing. So he didn't really like males, but he liked Ken? No, he really _didn't_ like Ken, and that was the reason why this was all so fucking hard to understand! "I don't know..." Daisuke put his face in his left hand and shook his head. "This is way too confusing for me to figure out right now."

"Well if you're having confusing sexual urges, don't take it out on me." Ken rolled his eyes.

"You need to question your own sexuality too, _smartass_!" Daisuke glared at the other boy. "And I don't like you at all, you can _count_ on that. I don't know why I liked what we did... I'm sure I'd find it disgusting now. Maybe I was high on... chemicals from your stupid base, or something!"

"My base does not excrete chemicals you retard." Ken glared condescendingly at the other boy. "Also, I don't like males _or_ females. Everyone is worthless, _especially_ you. Though you clearly have gay feelings towards me, and it's disgusting."

"I've said it a hundred times and I'll say it again." Daisuke got right up in the other boy's face and ignored the way Ken stiffened up from their close proximity. "You took forever to stop me, you moaned into it, and you pushed yourself into me. _You liked it_."

"And I've said a hundred times that I did _not_ like it!" Ken fumed back at the other boy, straightening himself and still refusing to back down. "_You're_ the one who liked it, because you're sick and confused!"

Daisuke growled viciously, his emotions overpowering his senses. He was so frustrated that his whole body was shaking and his breath had caught in his throat. This was complete and utter bullshit. For the love of... where did this guy get off pulling this shit? No, he was going to _prove_ that he didn't like Ken at all, and that Ken _had _liked that kiss, no matter _what_ he had to do!

Unfortunately, before Daisuke could calm down enough to realize the many flaws in his plan, he had grabbed Ken's shoulders and slammed him down onto the consoles behind him. Ken's eyes went wide with shock and his body stiffened as the redhead threw his lips onto his, much firmer than the previous time. Before Ken could attempt to shove him off, his back plastered against the panels, Daisuke quickly got between the other boy's bent legs and held his wrists above his head. He would make the other boy moan no matter what he had to do, and he'd win the argument. He was going to _win_ damn it!

Immediately the redhead's mind got cloudy and he felt his breath catch in his throat as he kissed Ken's lips hard. He forgot what he had been thinking about just a few seconds ago, and let his hands loosen on the tyrant's wrists. His fingers slid down the other boy's arms and his right hand snaked under the Kaiser's lower back, his left hand tangling up in his hair. His tongue worked its way into Ken's still shocked mouth, exploring the previously untouched area. There really wasn't any noticeable taste, but the action alone was exciting enough.

Underneath, Ken's body relaxed a bit. He hadn't started to kiss back by any means, but just like before, he had yet to say no or try to push the other boy off. His arms were still lying above his head on the consoles where Daisuke had forced them, but of their own free will.

Something about moaning... that was all Daisuke could recall through the haze in his mind. The redhead did just that too, a soft sound escaping his throat between their locked lips. He moved both hands up to grip at Ken's hair, his hips moving against the other boy's a bit in the process. He felt his cheeks flush and his face get really hot. Sweat started to form on his body and adrenalin pumped through his veins, having started out as frustration but quickly turning into a foggy lust.

Ken finally kissed back, lightly and with caution. Daisuke felt a strong warmth flow from his chest and out through the rest of his body. He kissed slower but deeper, urging the boy underneath to kiss back more. The slender boy did, and their pace increased. Finally Ken was kissing him with just as much passion, their lips biting and smacking.

Ken's fingers gripped at the redhead's hips, a moan escaping his throat. Something in Daisuke's chest felt satisfied, but he really had no idea what it meant right now, nor did he particularly give a shit. He loved hearing Ken make sounds like that and feel those encouraging touches, so he pushed their bodies closer together.

Ken was quieter after that, and Daisuke didn't like it one bit. He needed to make him moan more, so he'd have to go further somehow. He moved his lips down, trailing small kisses along the way. Soon enough he reached the base of the tyrant's neck and began sucking lightly. The boy underneath shivered, and Daisuke felt a fire burn in his chest. He sucked harder, loving the reactions he was getting. Ken panted loudly in the redhead's ear, who barely noticed how hard both of them had become.

"Moto... Dai... Daisuke!" Ken gasped loudly, throwing his head back and digging his nails into the redhead's back. Daisuke released a feral growl and ground their thighs together as hard as he could, creating a rocking motion between them. His attention moved from Ken's neck and down to the hardness forming between their hips, his head getting light. Not really aware of what he was even doing anymore, Daisuke let his hands start moving further down Ken's body-

Suddenly the base shook violently, a terrible rumbling sound rolling down the corridors. Daisuke stumbled and fell straight on his ass, the hard cement floor causing a sharp pain to rise in his tail bone. Alarms rang around the room as both of them were snapped back to reality, shocked and disorientated.

"C-Computer, what's happening?" Ken demanded breathlessly as he managed to get on his feet, Daisuke kneeling on one knee and looking around the room for a screen that might show what was going on. He was still dizzy and extremely light headed, but now he felt as though a bucket of ice water had just been poured on him.

"Enemies detected." The computer announced loudly throughout the room. Ken ran over to one of his consoles and began reading the base's status report. Daisuke was able to get fully on his feet now. He considered looking over at what the Kaiser was doing when the tyrant suddenly whipped around.

"You little shit!" Ken growled and grabbed Daisuke around the collar. "You were distracting me so that your fucking friends could get me in a trap! When did you find a way to communicate with them?"

"What are you talking about?" Daisuke shoved his arms between them, nearly falling over when he wrenched himself out of the other boy's grasp. He managed to back up and keep on his feet though, watching Ken carefully for another possible attack.

"You did that so I wouldn't be paying attention!" Ken hollered louder, the base once again shaking and the lights flickering on and off.

"No!" Daisuke denied, trying to remember what the hell had just happened. "I was... I was proving... something... I..."

"Proving something?" Ken's voice was so full of disbelief that Daisuke was getting quite concerned for the tyrant's mental health. "Proving _what_? Oh don't tell me, let me _take a guess_." Ken stalked forward, Daisuke backing away defensively. "It was to prove that you don't have sexual feelings towards me, that you can't stand me and that you aren't gay. Well good fucking job! You _sure showed me_! Why don't you moan and grind against me some more?"

"HEY!" Daisuke clenched his fists, remembering his previous train of thought. "You moaned louder than I did and fucking clawed at my back, you horny piece of shit! Well _guess what_, I _did_ prove something! That you're just as sexually confused as I am! Why don't you scream my fucking name some more? _'Moto...Dai...Daisuke_' was it? Couldn't make up your mind? Or were you just too _turned on_ to decide?"

"I HATE YOU!" Ken shook with rage, appearing on the verge of a breakdown. "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT," The tyrant reached into a drawer and pulled out his new ring, "THE HELL," and without warning, shoved it onto Daisuke's neck. "UP!"

The redhead gasped and fell to his knees, an unbearable ringing resonating in his ears. His vision blurred and his body started shaking violently. He gripped at his hair painfully, hundreds of visions and commands overwhelming his mind. He felt blood clog his throat and he coughed harshly, the copper tasting liquid splattering onto the floor. His body became too weak to control after that and he fell onto his right side.

Daisuke slowly looked up at the other boy and tried to focus on his face through the haze. The whole room spun for a moment and there was a blue blob in front of him. He saw numbers flashing before his eyes, and the urge to submit tugged at his willpower. He reached his arm up toward the blob that he vaguely remembered was Ken, and he squinted. After another second or two he managed to make out the general shape of the tyrant's face, but couldn't get any real details.

"Ken... help!" Daisuke whimpered as the room gave another disorienting spin and most of Ken's features were lost to him again. "Ken please... please, take it off!" He begged at the top of his lungs, terror filling his chest. The redhead sat up slowly, trying to crawl over to the other boy.

Then he started laughing psychotically as he gripped his hair again, the strong desire to unleash an unfamiliar emotion overpowering his body. He shook his head painfully and tried to focus on Ken again, whimpering and gasping from the effort to stop cackling. He looked around the room and found the blue blob again, and squinted as hard as he could. He still couldn't make out his face, but it seemed as though he was getting further away. Was Ken backing up?

"... suke... Daisuke?" Ken's voice echoed loudly in his head, continuing to rise in volume each time. It became so loud that he couldn't stand it, and Daisuke finally screamed at the top of his lungs in agony. He rocked back and forth, the sound of his own name screeching in his head. Quickly the noise became distorted, changing to the sound of very loud static and a computer beeping. He could hear nothing else.

Daisuke felt his head hit the floor painfully in another rush of dizziness and his body go limp, unable to muster the strength to move anymore. His vision blurred more than ever and the desire to submit was too strong to resist now. His head throbbed horrifically, the static and beeping echoed all around him. Finally, with one last hard squint, he made out Ken's face. The last thing he saw was the look of shocked horror in the Kaiser's eyes, his arms shaking severely, before everything went black.


	10. Hollow Victory

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 10: Hollow Victory

Author's Note: Well after the reviews and messages I got, I've decided to post M rated work here and only explicit material will be moved to AO3 (IF I even write anything like that for this story). No one seemed to care about keeping the story at a T rating, and if you did, well... you should have said something. Also, I can't believe how long this chapter ended up! I really didn't expect it to, but oh well, just means a bigger update for you guys. And as always, thanks to Ine-Capa and DigiGirl101 for your help.

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"Hikari, are you alright?" Iori asked the Child of Light as they flew towards their destination. She nodded and smiled at him, taking a deep breath in to help calm her nerves. She noticed Takeru give her a comforting smile in the corner of her eye from atop Pegasmon, which she appreciated.

Having to lie was hard for her, because it meant that she was breaking the trust of whoever she had been untruthful to. Even if they never found out, _she_ would always know. However, there were some times when a lie had to be told to help another, and today was one of those days. Almost immediately after their investigation of the Digital World during their lunch break, they'd received an emergency signal. She'd simply had no choice but to pretend to faint in class so that she could leave and meet up with everyone in the computer room. She didn't like it, but it truly couldn't wait this time.

Koushiro had told them that he was going to try and get the older Chosen to meet up with them and help rescue Daisuke, seeing as how they'd specifically chosen this area because Ken hadn't conquered it yet. She knew for sure that Taichi was coming, but that was all Koushiro had confirmed at the time he'd messaged them. She hoped more could make it.

The mountains came into view, which surprised Hikari quite a bit because they'd only just taken off from the gate a few minutes ago. The two peaks were in sight, though not in full detail yet. However, it didn't take long for her to realize that something wasn't quite right with their trap. What should have been there was a huge electric net stretched out between the two mountain tops, sparking and holding whatever it had caught inside. Their prediction was that Ken and a large squad of Digimon would pass through as they investigated the mountains, Koushiro having tracked his progress for a while. The net would shoot out when Ken's D3 signal passed between the peaks, and he'd be paralyzed along with the Digimon. It wouldn't hurt them, merely stun. If anything electronic got caught in it, then its power would be drained quickly. However, what they were met with was...

"Nothing?" Takeru asked out loud, his voice confused and worried. The group quickly landed between the two peaks, their Digimon staying in their evolved forms. They looked around frantically for any sign of the enemy, but found nothing of the sort. Even the net itself was missing.

The Child of Light felt her heart sink into her stomach. No way... this was terrible! She'd hoped... no, _begged_ any Gods that may have been listening that they had finally found a way to rescue their stolen comrade, and this was all they were met with?

"What happened?" Iori exclaimed, taking the words right out of her mouth. "The net isn't even here!"

"Koushiro says it definitely deployed, Ken should have been here." Miyako spoke distractedly as she continued to message the Child of Knowledge on her D-Terminal. "It wouldn't have activated without him passing through. He can't have gone far... ugh this sucks!" She snapped up from her message, speaking more normally at the end now that she wasn't reading a text.

"But the whole net is gone..." Hikari turned to face Miyako now, still extremely confused. "Did he find a way to rip it off the peaks or something?"

"It was so strong though!" Takeru looked around frantically for any signs of what may have happened. "We tested it so many times, it couldn't have just been torn apart!"

"Could a Digimon have done it?" Iori asked the other boy, his fingers under his chin as he went deep in thought. "Ken has some pretty formidable slaves on his side."

"All of our evolved Digimon tried to work together to rip it." Takeru reminded him. "Even the older kids, remember? We went to an area with no control spires just to test that. As long as the energy was still flowing through the net, it shouldn't have been able to be destroyed."

"Koushiro is going to investigate." Miyako sighed, cutting off the conversation. "He said he'd get back to us if he finds anything out, and the other Chosen are almost here." The purple haired girl shoved her D-Terminal into her pocket. "Anyway, I think we should look around for where Ken might have gone, I mean we've already wasted enough time talking about it!"

"Right." Takeru nodded, trying to act as the group's leader in both Taichi and Daisuke's absence. "Hikari and I will go-"

"There's no need for that."

The four of them turned around quickly as a voice cut them off. It only took them a few seconds to find the source, and Hikari felt her eyes shoot open and a gasp escape her lips. The last person she'd been expecting to see was walking towards them. His now broken goggles were strapped around his head and he was wearing his traditional flaming Digital World clothes. His D3 was clipped to his right pocket and he looked completely unhurt in any way.

Daisuke stopped moving once he'd gotten about 20 feet from them. His face held no emotion and the way he stood was... strange.

Hikari felt her body stiffen, and even though she wanted to run to him, she could not bring herself to do so. Daisuke's voice just a moment ago had held none of the warmth or passion it normally did, and his eyes... they weren't the fiery chocolate brown she remembered seeing just about every day, but were now cold, empty and dark. The way he walked was unusual too, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was about it that threw her off. More than any of that though, it was his behavior. He was just standing still now and looking at them, not coming closer. He was only about twenty feet away but... why wouldn't he come to them? After being a prisoner in Ken's base for months, the Daisuke she knew would be tackling them with happiness right now.

"Daisuke!" Miyako smiled and ran towards him, her arms stretched out for a hug. "Oh my God, how did you manage to-"

"Wait!" Hikari stepped forward again and felt her arm jerk forward to try and grab the other girl, but she was already too far away.

"Miyako!" Takeru ran after her, and Hikari had the feeling that he could sense the same things she was feeling from this.

"What's the matter Hikari?" Iori's question reached the Child of Light's ears, but she wasn't really listening. Then she saw it, and her breath caught in her throat. Miyako was just about to reach Daisuke when she saw his arm move, and she knew exactly what was going to happen. She screamed at the other girl to stop again but her words were unheard, and before Takeru could reach her, the back of Daisuke's hand struck hard against the purple haired girl's face. Miyako was sent to the ground with a loud shriek and a horrible sounding slap from the impact of his hand on her skin. She spun as she fell, and Takeru managed to slide on the dirt and catch her just before she hit the ground. The two of them grunted as she landed on top of the blond, who's back scraped through the dirt below.

Hikari pulled the pink D3 out of her pocket, her arms shaking severely. This wasn't happening... this just couldn't be happening... it was a bad dream or a Bakemon in disguise, it had to be. Iori appeared to be thinking the same thing, having been rendered completely speechless and unmoving next to her.

"Daisuke!" Takeru coughed as dirt lifted off the ground, clouding around them. Miyako whimpered and held her wound, clenching her eyes shut as tears tugged at them. The blond haired boy glared up at their leader. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you?"

"Takeru, Miyako, get away from him!" Hikari hollered at her friends as her eyes moved to the boy's neck, feeling sick to her stomach. Underneath the collar of his white shirt was a mechanical choker, appearing to be made out of some kind of black metal. She would know exactly what that was from a mile away."Look at his neck, it's a dark ring!"

The Digimon tensed up and got in a defensive position, ready for a possible fight. Hikari couldn't wrap her mind around this... they weren't seriously going to fight Daisuke were they? How could they do something like that? The point of this mission was to _rescue_ him, not hurt him! It wasn't the same as when Greymon had been controlled, where they could afford to hit him with a few attacks on accident and he'd be fine. A higher level Digimon could take a fireball to the face and survive, but Daisuke was just a Human. He'd get killed for sure!

An eerie silence settled in the mountains as the other three Chosen found what Hikari had been talking about. No one spoke or moved, not even Daisuke, who still stood just as emotionless as before. Small sounds nearby sounded ten times as loud as they really were in the awkwardness. This continued for a little while longer, until Iori finally managed to snap out of his horrified daze.

"D-Dark rings don't work on Humans, that can't be what it is!"

"W-Why else would Daisuke h-hit Miyako?" Hikari tried to calm herself enough to speak normally, but failed as her voice came out just as shaky as her body was. This was worse than anything she could have ever imagined. She'd had a sinking feeling in her gut ever since they made the plan to trap Ken that something wasn't going to go right in the end... but _this_? Even worse than the fact that Daisuke was being controlled by a ring, was the thought that this might also mean that Ken could enslave all of them as well. Were they all in danger of experiencing the same fate?

"KEN!" Nefertimon hollered into the mountains, her voice echoing all around them. "Come out here you disgusting piece of filth! I know you can hear me!"

Miyako stood suddenly, looking the redhead in the eyes furiously as she stepped forward. "You're _so_ lucky I'm willing to blame that smack on Ken instead of you!" She stepped towards the redhead again, Takeru jumping quickly back up to his feet. "Now stop acting like this, I _know_ you recognize us!"

"I do." Daisuke spoke simply as Takeru pulled the girl further away from him, his voice just as cold and hollow as before. "You're Inoue Miyako, and that's Takaishi Takeru next to you. You're enemies to our master, so it's our job to destroy you."

Before anyone could question his use of the word 'our', a large creature came out from behind one of the large rocks near Daisuke and stood next to him. Hikari probably should have been more surprised to see Fladramon standing there with a dark ring around his neck as well, but to be honest, she'd suspected as much. If Ken had gone to the effort of enslaving Daisuke, one would assume that he'd also go to the effort of getting V-Mon too.

"Daisuke, wake up!" Iori clenched his fists hard. "_Ken_ is your enemy, not us! You're a Chosen, so don't let that thing confuse you!"

"Discussion is pointless." Daisuke said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, snapping his fingers loudly. There was a loud screech and an army of Digimon came out from various hiding spots nearby, all with dark rings on their bodies. There were four groups of three Digimon, Airdramon, Unimon, Flymon, and Centalmon. Flying above them was a Devidramon, waiting and watching closely. With Fladramon included, there were a total of fourteen enemies, and only four of them.

"No!" Hikari shook her head back and forth, tears forming in her eyes. Her mind went blank, no longer able to grasp the events playing out before her.

"Daisuke!" Takeru moved around Miyako so he could see the other boy better. "Look at me, do you remember when you first met V-Mon? How happy you were to be Chosen and how much you wanted to stop the Kaiser from hurting any more Digimon? Ken is just using you!"

"I see that nothing will convince you to join us." Daisuke continued, not acknowledging anything that had just been said to him. The enslaved Digimon stalked closer to them, their eyes glowing red. Daisuke began walking forward as well, Takeru and Miyako backing away towards Hikari and Iori in response. "So we'll just have to kill you instead."

"DAISUKE!" Takeru snapped, lunging forward and grabbing the other boy's shoulders to shake him violently. "Take that evil _fucking_ thing off!" He grabbed the dark ring around the redhead's neck, but the moment his hands touched it, a white light erupted from it. The blond screamed as powerful electricity sparked and flared through his body, and he fell to the ground in a shivering heap.

Before anyone could react, the Flymon darted towards Takeru who was still shaking on the ground, the Airdramon went after a shocked and motionless Miyako nearby, the Centalmon leapt at Iori who was also staring at Takeru in horror, and Hikari watched as the Unimon came soaring towards her. At the same time, the Devidramon flew down and the redhead climbed up onto its back, hovering in the air with him safely on its back. Fladramon stayed put between the two mountain peaks they had tried to trap, appearing to be waiting for an order from Daisuke.

"Watch out!" Hikari screamed at the others before they were attacked without even getting the chance to defend themselves. She wasn't able to help them though, as a burst of light nearby caught her attention.

"Ah, _Hikari_." Daisuke's sarcastic voice echoed from above the battlefield, the girl looking up to meet him in the eyes. They were still just as empty as before, and an eerie laugh rang out through his lungs. "Let me show you just _how much_ you mean to me."

"Holy Shot!"

She turned and ran as fast as she could, three giant balls of white light flying straight at her from the Unimon above. The ground exploded around her and rumbled, her body rolling painfully and crashing into the edge of a cliff. Her stomach collided with a large rock and a sharp pain seared through her gut. She coughed and gagged, dirt getting into her lungs and making it hard to see as it was kicked up into the air. Through the haze of dust she managed to see more lights coming at her, so she leapt back up and ran forward along the cliff wall as best she could. Once again the ground near her crumbled and blew out, many large pieces of rock smacking into her back. She winced and covered the back of her head with her arms, closing her eyes and running blindly.

"HIKARI!" Nefertimon called out, but two of the three Unimon blocked her path. She tried to get around them, but they attacked and rammed, bit and stabbed; anything to keep her from reaching the girl. Quickly after that the third Unimon left the group and flew straight at Hikari instead.

A rush of dread filled the girl's chest as she realized what Daisuke was doing. His strategy wasn't to beat up their Digimon until only his were left like Ken always did. The goal was to hold off their Digmon and let just one slave kill _them_, the human Chosen themselves, because they were the real source of their Digimon's powers. Daisuke knew that better than Ken did, because even though the Kaiser surely had that knowledge, he'd never really acknowledged the partnership between a human and their Digimon partner. Or perhaps Daisuke was just more willing to cut to the chase and kill them without playing games like Ken loved to do. Their leader wouldn't underestimate them as easily as the Kaiser did.

"Spread Neigh!"

Hikari shrieked and froze as two large blades of wind slammed into the cliffs on either side of her, throwing her arms up in front of her face. The blades nearly cut her in half and one actually tore a large hole in the side of her shirt.

"Horn Thrust!"

Hikari managed to see the Unimon charging at her just in time to hit the ground, its sharp, glowing horn rammed into the side of the cliff where her torso had just been. She quickly rolled underneath as it tried to stomp on her with its back hooves. She got out just in time though, and jumped back up to her feet.

She was barely able to start running again before the Unimon's heavy frame slammed into her, flinging her body back up against the cliffs. She groaned as her back bounced off the rock wall and she hit the ground again, her head swimming with pain. She could only manage to get onto her hands and knees this time, her body aching too much to stand all the way up. She knew that trying to crawl away was pointless, especially when she was swerving around from how dizzy she had now become. The Unimon was faster than her even when she was running at top speed, so what good would this do? Even so, she couldn't help trying everything possible not to die.

"Holy Shot!"

The last of Hikari's strength left her and she curled up into a fetal position on the ground, covering her head with her arms in a futile attempt to endure the attack. As she'd expected there was the sound of an explosion, but unlike what she'd expected, there was no pain in her body. She also hadn't been thrown back from her curled up position on the ground by the blast. Her eyes opened and she felt a rush of relief warm her entire body, Greymon standing in front of her with his head bent down defensively. He'd taken the hit for her.

"Hikari!" Taichi's voice rang out through the mountains, footsteps approaching quickly from not too far off. Before she was able to look around and find him, she was being lifted up off the ground and carried away from the fight between Greymon and Unimon. She quickly wrapped her arms around her brother's neck to help keep her from falling, and they made their way behind a large rock. Her stomach ached worse than ever, all the running having jostled her around a bit more than her body could handle right now.

Taichi set his sister down gently and leaned her up against the back of one of the rocks, and it was then that she realized Jyou and Gomamon were there too. Jyou quickly pulled a bottle of disinfectant out of the large first aid kit he'd brought and poured some of the liquid onto a rag, dabbing the girl's bleeding wounds. Hikari cringed from how much it stung, but she knew it had to be done.

"The others..." Hikari coughed, a sharp pain shooting through her throat from speaking. "Are they-"

"They're fine." Jyou cut her off quickly, most likely noticing that she was in pain from the grimace on her face.

"Digmon collapsed the ground underneath Iori and Miyako, and they fell into a pit." Taichi explained. "They're safe in there, but Iori twisted his ankle pretty bad from the fall. Takeru got picked up by Pegasmon but I don't know if he's okay yet, just that Pegasmon was trying to find you with Nefertimon. They couldn't get to you though because of all the slaves chasing them, so Jyou and I had to sneak over here and get you ourselves before those jerks saw us."

"What about... Yamato and-"

"They're here now." Jyou once again cut her off before she could finish and damage her throat even more. "Yamato and Sora came with us, and Koushiro is in the real world trying to find Ken but he's going to evolve Tentomon to help us fight. We tried to get Mimi to come but she's asleep."

"Yeah..." Taichi rubbed the back of his head and gave a guilty smile. "We both forgot that it's still night time in America. I think I pissed her dad off when I called... I left a bunch of messages on her D-Terminal though, so we'll see if she gets them or not."

Once Taichi finished explaining, Jyou pulled something else out of his pocket and handed it to her. Hikari took it after realizing that it was a bottle of water, and began drinking quickly. A few moments later the bottle was empty and lying on the ground next to her. She sighed as her body and throat relaxed, feeling a million times better. She wasn't completely healed or anything, but she felt like she could speak normally and maybe even stand now.

"Thanks." Hikari smiled at them and sat upright more. Before she could say anything else to him though, her thoughts were cut off as Taichi got another message from his D-Terminal. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked it quickly.

"I need to help them fight." Taichi glanced over at Hikari sadly. "I know you'll want to come with me, but you need to stay here with Jyou."

"But...!" Hikari couldn't finish her sentence, her throat hurting again. She relaxed and gave in at that point, realizing that even if she could stand, it didn't mean she could run. If she was going to go back out into the battle she'd have to be in a better condition than this. What if she got attacked again and couldn't even get away? "Okay." She nodded finally, and Taichi quickly ran around the rock and out of sight. The others needed him a lot more than her right now...

"It'll be okay!" Gomamon smiled reassuringly as Jyou pulled some large band aids and gauze out of his many pockets. "Nefertimon is over there, so you're still helping!"

"You're right." Hikari nodded, hoping with every fiber of her being that Nefertimon would be able to hold up without her, and that the others would be able to at least capture Daisuke. The whole point of this mission was to get him back, after all.

Looking up at the sky, the Child of Light felt tears well up in her eyes and quiet sobs escape her lips. What Daisuke had said to her before he attacked... she prayed that he'd forgive himself.

* * *

Taichi thought hard as he and Greymon ran away from the rocky shelter, trying to figure out their current situation in the fight. Jyou was hiding in the rocks so that he could tend to Hikari, and Gomamon was with them just in case they were attacked. Miyako and Iori were still underground with Digmon, Koushiro hadn't shown up yet with Kabuterimon, and Taichi had no idea if Mimi and Togemon were coming. That left Greymon, Garurumon, Birdramon, Pegasmon, Holsmon and Nefertimon to battle Daisuke's forces. As far as the opposition went, Greymon had broken the dark ring on the Unimon, and when Digmon collapsed the ground one of the Centalmon had fallen in with, and its dark ring was shattered. Unfortunately that was all they'd managed to do so far.

Upon reaching the battlefield, Taichi scanned over the scene as quickly as he could. Nefertimon was still dealing with the two other Unimon, and Garurumon was fighting the two remaining Centalmon not too far away. Holsmon was trying to keep the three Flymon distracted so that they couldn't find where Digmon was hiding, and Birdramon was doing pretty much the same thing with the three Airdramon. Pegasmon was up in the air fighting the Devidramon that Daisuke had been riding on, but didn't appear to be anymore. Where had he and Fladramon gone?

The Child of Courage looked up at Pegasmon to try and spot Takeru. He was pretty sure that he could see the boy slumped over with his arms around Pegasmon's neck, but they were too high up to get any real details from. He'd already sent Takeru a message asking if he was okay, but never got a response.

"Greymon." Taichi turned to his partner. "We need to find out if Takeru is alright before we do anything else. After that we should try and get some of those enemies off Holsmon and Birdramon. It's three versus one, they'll never be able to attack back like that. So let's-"

"Hello Taichi."

The Child of Courage spun around sharply as a very familiar voice echoed in his ears, and a very bittersweet emotion filled his heart when he saw Daisuke and Fladramon standing behind him. Taichi's eyes immediately moved to the other boy's neck, and sure enough, there was the dark ring that had been described in the messages he'd gotten from Miyako. It was so hard to believe that Ken had actually managed to make one that worked on a Human... it wasn't that Digimon were any less real than they were, but their bodies were entirely data whereas a Human body still had biological properties. He didn't know much about the details on how those dark rings worked, Koushiro probably had a better idea than anyone else, but he did know that data could be altered and rewritten. How the Hell could Ken possibly alter or rewrite a real, human brain though?

"Ironic, isn't it?" Daisuke appeared to be taunting him, but his voice was so void of emotion that it sounded very strange. After that he began walking slowly around Taichi and Greymon like a predator. "You were my hero once, and now I really couldn't care less. In fact, I find you quite pathetic now. That's why I've decided to destroy you personally."

"Are you sure about that?" Taichi felt his eyes narrow a bit as they followed the other boy. "You of all people should know that Greymon and I don't hold back in a fight, not even against you. The others would probably soften the blow, but I'm not like them. I put the greater good before one single person."

"I think you're going to try and capture me, and take me to where you can remove the ring." Daisuke pulled his D3 out of his pocket. "I won't allow that."

"So you actually acknowledge that you have a dark ring on?" Taichi frowned, even more confused than before. "That it's controlling you?"

"Controlling me?" Daisuke chuckled a bit, and its eerie tone made Taichi's stomach turn. "Don't be foolish. It has enlightened me and shown me that everything I fought for in the past was pointless. Everything I used to enjoy, believe in, they are all false. Master Ken is the only thing truly worth fighting for, and you are all the real enemies. Removing the ring would make me forget that my life's purpose is to serve Ken, and I can't allow that."

"Ken made you think that, did he?" Taichi spat viciously, his hatred for the Kaiser increasing even more than before. "I see you're wearing the goggles I gave you."

"Yes." Daisuke chuckled again. "I thought the lenses represented our current relationship well."

"Ken is a sick, twisted bastard." Taichi spat once again, glaring at the shattered lenses of the goggles that used to belong to him. "I'm going to kick his fucking ass."

"Well..." Daisuke trailed off as he finished circling them, once again directly in front of the Child of Courage and Greymon. "Then I guess we have nothing left to talk about."

Before they'd even had a chance to prepare themselves, Fladramon lunged at Greymon with his Fire Rocket attack. The blade on his helmet hit Greymon square in the chest, and the smaller Digimon's momentum caused the larger one to slide back and slam into the cliff.

Fladramon kicked off against Greymon's chest, and the larger Digimon used that moment to spin against the rocks and whip at Fladramon with his tail. Still in the air, the smaller Digimon was unable to dodge the attack, so instead he grabbed onto the tail itself as it came at him. Fladramon managed to crawl around the tail just in time to no longer be on the side that was slamming into the side of the left cliff.

Rocks crumbled around Fladramon as he ran up the larger Digimon's back. Eventually he was on his head, and his fists became alight with fire.

"Knuckle Fire!" The smaller Digimon's punches struck against Greymon's skull, the larger Digimon roaring loudly.

"Greymon get him off!" Taichi called out, and his partner appeared to hear him. A fireball formed in his mouth, and even though fire attacks wouldn't work as well against Fladramon, it would still knock him away. The larger Digimon spun his head around and flung Fladramon back into the air.

"Mega Flame!" The fireball soared from his mouth and hit its target perfectly, Fladramon being sent crashing into the other cliff on the right side. He slid down and landed in a heap on the ground, rocks crumbling around him.

"Get up Fladramon!" Daisuke's voice held no compassion whatsoever, an emotion that Daisuke had never before sent at his own partner. The pile of rocks suddenly flew apart in an eruption of fire, and Fladramon burst towards Greymon at full speed.

Fladramon jumped up off the ground and pulled back his claws, ready to slash at the larger Digimon's face. Greymon didn't have enough time to load another fireball and shoot it, so instead he dove down at the ground. Sure enough, Fladramon missed Greymon and was sent rolling along the ground on the other side.

_'I can't evolve Greymon...'_ Taichi clenched his Digivice in his hand. _'He was already weak from fighting the Unimon, and now he doesn't have enough strength to reach a higher evolution.'_

Greymon jumped back up to his feet and leapt into the air, growling ferociously as he attempted to crush Fladramon with all of his weight.

"Move!" Daisuke hollered, and Fladramon appeared to leap blindly in a random direction. Greymon hit the ground just a few inches from the smaller Digimon, and the force sent Fladramon rolling back up against the right cliff. After that the smaller Digimon got back up onto his feet and ran at full speed back towards Greymon. The larger Digimon stood his ground, Fladramon running circles around him.

"He's going to jump at you!" Taichi exclaimed, noticing the way the smaller Digimon's fists were glowing with fire again. Greymon closed his eyes and tried to listen instead of watch for when Fladramon jumped, growing dizzy from the effort of keeping his eyes on him. Then he heard it, something that wasn't quite the same as his other footsteps, and from his right side.

"Mega Flame!" Greymon shot the fireball at Fladramon but aimed a bit too high, and the smaller Digimon dug his claws into Greymon's shoulder. The large Digimon roared with pain, Fladramon climbing up his body by sinking his claws into his skin. Fladramon pelted his flaming fists into Greymon's head once again as soon as he was back up on top like before.

"Greymon!" Taichi cried out in horror as his partner's data began to destabilize. His body was starting to phase in and out, static overcoming him. Just a few more hits and he'd go back to Agumon, and the battle would be over. They would lose...

The large Digimon suddenly whipped his head downward, flinging Fladramon towards the ground. At first Taichi wasn't sure why he had done that. However, before the smaller Digimon could even hit the ground, Greymon caught him with his small hand and pulled him up against his chest. He held onto the smaller Digimon with both arms as hard as he could, and then ran straight for the cliff wall.

"Greymon what are you doing?" Taichi exclaimed, his partner still phasing in and out of the static. Then it dawned on him; no matter what Greymon did at this point he was going to lose his strength in just a few seconds and go back to Agumon, even if he didn't get hit again. So if he was going down anyway...

"Fladramon!" Daisuke hollered, appearing to realize what the larger Digimon's strategy was as well. "Get away from him!"

Fladramon wiggled, scratched and bit, but Greymon held on tight. There was nothing the smaller Digimon could do, and a few moments later the large Digimon rammed himself as hard as he possibly could against the cliff. Fladramon screamed as his body was smashed between the wall and Greymon's hard body, and both Digimon were sent back to their Child forms. Rubble from the cliff fell down on top of them, and then there was silence.

"A-Agumon!" Taichi ran to where the two Digimon had fallen and began throwing rocks off the pile. It didn't take him long to find his partner's body amongst the mess, and as gently as he could, he pulled him out. After he'd set the unconscious form down on the ground next to him, he began digging again. "V-Mon! V-Mon can you hear me?"

"Why do you care about V-Mon?" Daisuke walked over to him and watched, genuine confusion in his voice. "He's your enemy and he was weak, just let him die."

"SHUT UP!" Taichi screamed and threw some of the rocks at the other boy, his arms shaking. There were so many things wrong with this situation, but hearing Daisuke not care about V-Mon's life with his own ears was more than he could handle. This ring was so horrible that it could completely sever the connection between a Chosen and their partner... Daisuke genuinely didn't care what happened to V-Mon right now.

"Well by all means, waste your time on that worthless Digimon." Daisuke turned to walk away, and Taichi felt something snap. He stood sharply and Daisuke heard his sudden movement nearby, turning around to face the other boy again. Taichi panted with rage, his fists clenched at his sides and tears formed at the corners of his eyes.

"The emotion you display, rage..." Daisuke frowned at the other boy. "I don't understand it."

"Oh, Daisuke understands that emotion _very well_." Taichi's voice was low as he stalked towards the other boy, who did not back down. "He knows frustration and anger. He knows rage. And if he were still there to see what you've done, inside that body you've possessed..." Taichi stopped right in front of Daisuke now. "He would be so fucking pissed off at me if I didn't do this."

Daisuke didn't move fast enough to dodge or block Taichi's fist, and a loud crack echoed around the mountains as it collided with his face. The redhead stumbled backwards but didn't fall down, managing to stay on his feet as he leaned against the wall of the cliff. Taichi screamed with fury and rushed at the shorter boy. If there was one thing he knew, it was that Daisuke was all about emotions. The redhead really didn't know anything about fighting, he just got so pissed off sometimes that he could pull amazing abilities out of his ass. With the ring suppressing those emotions, Daisuke would never be able to tap into his physical abilities. Taichi could surely get the upper hand, and maybe he could still rip that ring off yet.

Taichi grabbed Daisuke by his hair and yanked, trying to throw him onto the ground. Daisuke didn't even remotely put up enough of a fight, and was sent rolling with ease. Dirt rose into the air and Taichi ran back at the boy, this time sitting down on his stomach and going for the throat. That ring... if he could just get enough strength behind him, maybe he could pull it-

Taichi gasped as his body was sent into a spasm, pain searing through his chest and white lights dancing in his eyes. Before he even realized that it had stopped his head had hit the ground, and his arms and legs began twitching uncontrollably. He couldn't move or speak, or even open his eyes. Somehow the moment his fingers had touched the ring, he'd been severely electrocuted. Daisuke hadn't done anything to him because Taichi had made sure not to let him reach into his jacket and pull something out. It must have been a self defense ability of the ring. He'd been informed that Takeru had been electrocuted by Daisuke, but he'd assumed it had been with a taser or something. Communication between the group was very rushed and vague right now...

Taichi moved his head and looked towards the pile of rocks that V-Mon was still under. There was movement, and the little blue Digimon appeared to be weakly climbing out with Agumon's help.

Taichi saw Daisuke get back up on his feet nearby, but his ears were ringing too loudly to tell if he was saying anything. After a moment or two he saw the boy walk over to V-Mon and yank him up, jumping onto an Airdramon's back. He flew off somewhere after that, probably back to where the rest of the battle was. Agumon weakly hobbled over to Taichi and slumped down next to him.

"T-Taichi... I'm sorry..." was all Agumon could get out, growing silent after that. Taichi shook his head and smiled at his partner, hugging him gently, his throat hurting too much to speak.

The Child of Courage wasn't sure how much time passed before he was able to sit back up and the ringing in his head had stopped. Agumon was too weak to talk, so he just curled up next to him with a wince on his face. Taichi winced too, his body still burning from the electrocution. Had they failed? Was Daisuke going to win now because he'd lost their duel? What would happen to V-Mon? There had to be something they could do...

"Taichi!" a voice called out, and the weak boy looked up to see Kabuterimon coming towards him with Koushiro on his back. The Child of Knowledge jumped off his Digimon's back once they'd landed nearby and ran as fast as he could over to them. "Taichi we have to retreat!"

"W-What?" Taichi coughed as the other boy helped him to his feet and began walking him and Agumon over towards Kabuterimon. "Did we lose?"

"No, but we're about to." Koushiro grunted as he hoisted the larger boy and Agumon up into his partner's hand. Kabuterimon set the three of them down on his shoulders, and leap up into the air. "There's no way we can win this fight with only Pegasmon, Digmon and Nefertimon." Koushiro had to practically yell over the large insect's wings to be heard.

"What?" Taichi exclaimed loudly. "Why only those three, what happened to everyone else? We have Kabuterimon now too!"

"They're all fine so far, but not for long." Koushiro frowned and looked over at his friend. "Daisuke was just stalling for time while Ken built a dark tower in this area, and I didn't notice it soon enough. There's no way we'll be able to reach him fast enough to stop him, and literally any second now all of our older generation Digimon are going to revert back to child form. That leaves Pegasmon, Digmon and Nefertimon to battle three Flymon, three Airdramon, two Centalmon and a Devidramon."

"But..." Taichi felt his blood run cold, trying to get his brain to comprehend all of this. "But what about Holsmon?"

"Well," Koushiro continued, looking forward with a sad expression on his face as the battle came back into view. "The Airdramon and Flymon all attacked at once and easily defeated him. Hawkmon got picked up by Digmon before they could swarm and hurt him even more, and gave him to Miyako and Iori underground."

"So..." Taichi tried to catch up with his friend, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed. "We're like, totally screwed here? There's nothing we can do?"

"That's how it seems..." Koushiro trailed off morbidly, the battle just ahead of them. "That's why we have to get everyone back to the real world right away to recuperate, then we can-"

Suddenly there was nothing below them as Kabuterimon reverted back to Tentomon, and all three of them started falling. They hit the ground quickly at least, thanks to Kabuterimon having flown so close to the ground. Taichi, Koushiro and Agumon rolled a few feet after that, dirt kicking up around them and filling their lungs.

Pained groans escaped their lips and Taichi had to force back the desire to gag. He tried to look around and figure out where they'd landed after that. It appeared that they were right by the main battle, just a few feet away behind some rocks. Next to him was Agumon, who had apparently been knocked unconscious again from the fall.

"Can you walk?" Koushiro asked as he stood up and began hoisting Agumon up onto his shoulders. "If we can get around these rocks we should be able to reach them in just a few minutes or so."

"Y-Yeah." Taichi nodded and forced himself back up onto his feet. The two boys limped painfully as quickly as they could, which wasn't nearly as fast as Taichi would have liked. However, they did make it out of the rocks and back into the large open clearing between the two mountains where their trap had originally been placed. Once the battle came into view though, they froze and stared.

Everyone appeared to have been rounded up and huddled together between the two peaks. The Chosen and their now child-form Digimon were all tied up with ropes and one of the Centalmon, two Airdramon, one Flymon, and the Devidramon were surrounding them. Trying to think of something quick, Taichi glanced around and saw that if they scooted to the right and snuck around one of the rocky hills, they could come out right by where the ropes were all tied together. If they could find a way to distract the Digimon somehow...

"Let's go that way." Taichi whispered to the other boy, who glanced to the right where his friend was pointing. "If we can get around this hill then I can try to untie the ropes, and over here Tentomon can-"

"I'm only going to say this once." Daisuke's voice echoed from above them, the redhead riding atop the Devidramon from before. It had clearly broken away from the fight with Pegasmon to pick him up. "When one of the Airdramon gets over here, you're going to get on and go join your friends."

Taichi growled but didn't move, knowing that Daisuke would probably do something drastic in this state. He was willing to let his own partner die now, after all. No... there had to be something he could do, he couldn't just surrender like this! What would Daisuke do to them once they were all his prisoners? Kill them? Take them to the base? Taichi was their leader and it was his job to protect the rest of the group, and he'd failed. No... no there had to be something he could still-

Something caught Taichi's eye off in the distance, and he squinted. As the Airdramon approached, the Child of Courage realized that he was seeing the Digimon they'd defeated getting back up. None of them had killed the enslaved Digimon during their battle, they'd only removed their dark rings. He could see a Centalmon up on a rock, and a bunch of the flyers in the air... this meant that... that... if he could just...

"HEY!" Taichi hollered at the top of his lungs suddenly, his throat searing with pain and his heart beating faster and faster. His head throbbed from yelling too, but he ignored it as best he could; it was now or never. "WE HELPED YOU, NOW COME HELP US!"

The defeated, now ex-slave Digimon turned around and looked over at Taichi. More stood up after he'd yelled out into the mountains, and he could now see the three Unimon, two Centalmon, one Airdramon, and two Flymon that they'd defeated. They had all frozen in place, staring intently at the Child of Courage.

"Hey!" Daisuke yelled at Taichi. "Shut your mouth or I'll have the slaves attack your friends!"

"COME ON!" Taichi hollered again, closing his eyes from the pain. He didn't care if Daisuke threatened his friends or not anymore, because no matter what he did they were all in danger. "YOUR RINGS ARE _GONE_ BECAUSE OF US, YOU'RE FREE! BUT WE'RE ABOUT TO GET CAPTURED NOW, SO PLEASE COME HELP US NOW THAT WE NEED YOU!"

"Don't even think about it!" Daisuke yelled at the ex-slaves. "I am your master, not this fool-" but he didn't get to finish his statement as the Digimon he'd attacked the Chosen with just moments ago jumped up and soared towards them, now in their right minds. Taichi's words had been heard, and suddenly another battle erupted around them. The four slaves that Daisuke had left were surrounded and overwhelmed by the eight now-free Digimon, the Devidramon rising up and away from danger.

The battle was a blur for the Child of Courage, sparks and explosions going off all over the place down in the clearing. The others were still tied up together, so there was nothing they could do but shut their eyes and pray. Taichi could hear them gasp and whimper nearby, and he hoped to any Gods that might be listening that no one would get hurt.

"Koushiro, find safety for them!" Taichi hollered to his friend as he ran as fast as he could over to the clearing, quickly heading right into the thick of it. Sparks of light and energy whizzed past his face, his ears starting to ring again from how loud everything was. One of the Centalmon knocked him off his feet, but even so he got back up and reached the others. He pulled as hard as he could on the ropes, his heart beating faster than he could ever recall. Eventually he got it untied, and the others started shaking themselves free of the bonds.

"GUYS!" Koushiro hollered over to them from behind the large rocks. Everyone stood and ran as fast as they could over to the Child of Knowledge, taking cover. They huddled together and closed their eyes, attacks exploding all around them and Digimon ramming up into the cliffs. After a minute or so passed, Taichi opened his eyes and peaked around the rock.

Off in the distance was the Devidramon retreating with Daisuke on his back, the enslaved Chosen Child clearly having decided to leave his four remaining slaves to their fate. The battle was now over though, all of the dark rings shattered.

Taichi knew that he should feel great right now. He should be overwhelmed with happiness as the freed Digimon began cheering, the battle having somehow, by some miracle, been won. But it wasn't a successful battle that they had been after, it wasn't about kicking the Kaiser's ass this time. Taichi felt tears tug at his eyes and his mind go numb, unable to muster the strength to move even though he physically felt a lot better now.

With the Digimon around them celebrating in the background, the nine Chosen and their partners all slumped back against each other, the hollow victory sitting heavily in their hearts.

* * *

**********Flashback**********

_Ken stared down at the motionless boy on the floor, the large blood stain lying next to his head. The shocking scene that had just played out before him left the tyrant speechless and unable to think straight. The control room was full of noise from the panic going on around the base, yet somehow it felt completely silent to Ken. The guards were outside still, probably assuming that Daisuke's screams had been from Ken kicking his ass, and they had enough to deal with out in the chaotic hallway anyway._

_Ken felt his body start walking slowly towards the other boy, not really of his own effort._

_Whenever he'd put a dark ring on a Digimon they had just gone limp for a moment, and then opened their eyes and they were controlled. This ring though... had it actually killed him? Daisuke had clearly tried to fight against its influence, as Ken had expected he would do. He'd given it a lot more power to overtake the boy's mind for that reason... had he overdone it?_

_The Kaiser's arms were shaking as he knelt down beside his prisoner, reaching for his wrist to check for a pulse. The redhead was lying on his right side, his right arm lying directly next to his head, and his left arm stretched out on the floor beside him. He picked up Daisuke's left wrist and removed his own glove, placing his bare fingers to the boy's blood vessel. He had to try very hard to steady his own nerves so that he could keep his hand still enough to even do this the right way. A few seconds later he released a large breath of relief that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Daisuke wasn't dead._

_A memory flashed through the tyrant's mind suddenly, of how Daisuke had given him CPR when he'd been dying on this same floor not too long ago. Guilt struck at his chest, but he knew that CPR wasn't going to help Daisuke in this situation because he was breathing just fine. In fact, it almost looked as though he was just taking a nap or something._

_"H-Hey, come on..." Ken said weakly, forcing the redhead to sit up and leaning him against the nearby wall. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him, hoping that it would stir him into consciousness a bit. It did absolutely nothing though, and Daisuke's head went limp against the wall again. What if the ring had caused permanent brain damage or something? Ken's eyes felt wetter all of a sudden, and he wiped them with his ungloved hand._

_"Daisuke come on!" Ken raised his voice, his heart rate starting to increase. "You need to-!"_

_Ken was startled when Daisuke's eyes suddenly shot open and he stood, arms lying straight down at his sides. Ken stood up as well, much slower though, and backed up a few steps. He looked up and down the redhead's tan body, feeling extremely confused._

_A very awkward silence filled the room after that, Ken still staring at his prisoner. Daisuke did and said absolutely nothing, appearing to be waiting for something. The tyrant realized what it was finally, and cleared his throat to speak._

_"What is your name?" Ken's voice was quieter than normal as he asked._

_"Bio Ring Prototype 5877324." Daisuke's voice was cold and emotionless, his eyes moving to meet with Ken's. "Ready for instruction, master."_

_The boy had finally answered the question correctly; which was something he knew that Daisuke would never randomly say on his own. Even if he'd managed to guess or figure out that Ken had named it the "Bio Ring", and even if he asked for directions and called Ken 'master', he'd never have been able to get that exact sequence of numbers right. They didn't even mean anything, they had been randomly selected by Ken himself when he first started the project, and he'd made a point of never logging it into his computer. He'd simply remembered the sequence on his own._

_Ken didn't know how to react at all. He should have been happy and laughing psychotically at the fact that his exhausting and material draining experiment had finally worked. He should have been taking advantage of the fact that Daisuke was his to command now, and sending him at the Chosen or something. How hilarious it would be to see the look on their faces when the very person they were trying so hard to rescue attacked them with the Kaiser's slaves at his side. And yet, for some reason, Ken couldn't think of anything to say now that he was staring success straight in the eyes._

_"Master, I am ready for instructions." Daisuke repeated, still looking at him and not moving an inch._

_'This is wrong.' Ken thought and felt his legs move away from his prisoner. 'What I've done to him, it's terrible.' The tyrant's right hand moved up to cover his mouth and his eyes felt wet again. 'He's a real person, he has a soul, and I just-'_

_The room gave a jerk and started spinning, the floor smacking into Ken's head almost immediately. The base hadn't been hit again though, as Ken had initially expected. He curled up on the floor and gripped at his hair, pained moans escaping his throat. There was a hot, searing pain in the back of his neck and he moved his hands down to clutch at it with his finger tips. Almost immediately he got dizzy and his head started to spin, nausea settling in his stomach._

_"Master!" Daisuke's voice had a bit more emotion in it that time as he knelt down next to him._

_'There's nothing wrong with this.' Ken heard his own voice echo in his mind. 'It's not terrible at all.'_

_"That's not true." Ken said out loud to his own thoughts, looking past Daisuke and up at the ceiling. "He's a human, he doesn't deserve this."_

_'Of **course** he deserves it." the thoughts continued, sounding as though it was scoffing at his own ignorance. 'He's a complete **moron**. Mindless fools like him don't deserve to have their own will.'_

_"But..." Ken felt his body tense up a bit. "No, he has a good heart deep down, I can't just-"_

_'On top of that he's an enemy,' Ken's voice in his head actually cut himself off. 'And enemies must be destroyed.'_

_"I do want to destroy my enemies, but..." Ken frowned, still not looking at Daisuke's face. "But it's not right to destroy something that's real. He's not just data like the Digimon."_

_'Who cares if he's real or not?' He thought to himself, the room finally feeling stable and not spinning anymore. 'Real or data, he's still going to ruin your plans to take over the Digital World. He's in the way, so just use him!'_

_"No..." Ken sat up finally and shook his head, clenching his eyes shut. "No I can't just-"_

_'Look how soft he's made you!' Ken thought, practically spitting with disgust, and he outwardly shivered. 'This is unacceptable, he needs to be punished for it.'_

_"I..." Ken stopped moving and looked down at his hands, thinking about everything he'd thought._

_'You used to be so strong...' Ken's thoughts stroked his ego. 'You were going to show everyone, weren't you? Show that they couldn't just walk all over you and pretend you weren't there. You were going to prove that Osamu wasn't better than you, that he was just a pampered little shit, and that your parents are worthless maggots. You were going to be better than **everyone**. Everyone who looked down on you.'_

_"That..." Ken clenched his fists and glared, anger rushing through his veins. "That's right."_

_'You were going to get revenge on **all** of them.' His inner voice whispered so quietly now that Ken could hardly hear it, but the words struck hard at his soul just the same. 'All of those worthless fools who tried to make you weak. Are you as weak as they thought?'_

_"I'm not weak..." Ken felt his arms start to shake and his voice crack. "I'm not!"_

_'Then prove it.' The voice faded away, no longer audible over the noise in the base and whatever the worthless redhead was saying._

_"Right." Ken finally said with a confident voice, standing up and facing his stupid piece of shit of a prisoner. Once their eyes met again, he spoke in a very condescending voice. "I have a plan to get us out of those brat's trap before they even show up." Ken couldn't help but smirk as he quickly figured out his plan._

_Everything became data to some degree in the Digital World, a program of its own in a sense. Even living beings were converted into data, though as he'd come to realize, not entirely so. There were still portions of their brains that were organic, and it was that discovery that had caused the Bio Ring to work finally. A large energy net, however, held no biological structure and made it much easier to overpower than a person's mind was. It was just a mass of information and programming, as with all inanimate objects in the Digital World, and even the very Digimon themselves. What this meant was that Ken could manipulate that data and force it to act differently than intended. Simply put; a virus. All he had to do was short out the energy in the net that was preventing him from moving, and he would be able to back the base up and tear it off in the process. It was a pretty good trap he supposed, in theory. Nevertheless it still was nothing compared to his level of intelligence. Why did these fools even bother anymore?_

_Ken looked at his prisoner, a sadistic excitement in his heart as he gave his first order; "Crush them."_


	11. Numb

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 11: Numb

Author's Note: Unlike my last chapter that ended up longer than expected, this one ended up shorter than expected. Oh well, I guess they average out or something. This was a good ending point, so I'll just stick with it. Thanks as always to Ine-Capa and DigiGirl101!

* * *

_"Takeru-kun!" Sora's voice snapped Takeru out of his horrified daze, Piemon on their heels as they tried to escape. "Take Hikari-chan and get out of here!" Sora spoke again, her voice frantic._

_"But what about you?" Takeru exclaimed, not understanding how she could possibly want him to just abandon her._

_"Listen carefully." Sora pulled herself out of the hole they had all crawled through and looked him straight at him. Takeru waited, his heart pounding in his chest, and his body starting to feel numb. "There's no doubt that both Garudamon and Angewomon have been turned into dolls by Piemon now. You're the only one here who can protect Hikari-chan." Sora stood, but never took her eyes off of Takeru. "Understand?"_

_"But Sora-san, you're...!"_

_"Don't worry about me!" Sora cut the boy off, her hands grasping his shoulders. "Do you understand?"_

_Takeru felt so many emotions well up inside of him. He thought of the family he had once had before they split up, and how he had to live only with his mother. He thought of his dad and brother, whom he rarely saw anymore. At one point he'd promised himself that he'd protect his family and keep them together, but he'd failed. If he couldn't even save his own family, how could anyone trust him to save Hikari now?_

_"Yeah." Takeru looked down sadly at the floor, unable to speak his mind with that fierce expression staring him down._

_"Do whatever it takes to get away from here!" Sora's voice was firm and determined, as though she knew exactly what she was going to do._

_"Okay." Takeru tried to sound more sure of himself. If Sora was going to put her trust in him for some reason then he might as well give her some hope that he could do it. He didn't think he could, but it would be even worse to not try. "I'll protect Hikari-chan at all costs!"_

_"Now, hurry and run!" Sora shoved him backward towards Hikari, Gomamon and Patamon, staying put by the hole in the floor. Takeru called out to Hikari to follow him, and they ran as fast as they could. However, they hadn't made it far before he heard Sora scream._

_"Takeru-kun!"_

_Takeru turned around in time to see Piemon's sheet wrapping around her as she was turned into a doll. Just before that, however, she threw something at him. He caught it; Yamato's doll. _

_Takeru ran through the large double doors with Hikari and Patamon, tears tugging at his eyes. He could hear Piemon's voice saying something behind him, but he didn't stop to find out what it was. He had to get away before they were caught, and he failed Hikari as well as Sora. However, the moment they'd made it through the doorway he froze. They'd reached a dead end, only a balcony standing before them._

_The group began to panic and Takeru tried to find some way to escape, when Patamon pointed towards a straw basket. Takeru opened up the lid, and suddenly the rope began to rise into the air somehow. He tugged on it as hard as he could, discovering that it was secure and didn't budge._

_"Climb up Hikari-chan!" Takeru urged the girl, and when she began to stutter with fear, he tried to sound as determined as he could. "Don't be afraid, climb up!" He let the girl go first, and then he began to climb up after her. He had no idea where they were going, but it couldn't be worse than staying on the balcony where Piemon would surely discover very quickly._

_The door exploding behind them only confirmed the boy's fears, but before he had a chance to speak or really start to panic, Patamon had evolved into Angemon. The sounds of clashing weapons rang in the boy's hears, and he found himself cheering on his partner enthusiastically. Maybe Angemon could do it! He could beat Piemon! He didn't have to fail Hikari too, he could-_

_Angemon screamed in pain as he was blasted backwards and off the balcony edge, and Takeru cried out his partner's name. No... he'd lost Angemon once before to Devimon, he'd lost his family forever, he was losing all of the other Chosen because he wasn't strong enough to help, and now he was going to lose Hikari too..._

_There was a crash below as Angemon hit the ground, his staff rolling away from his now limp body. Takeru screamed, tears streaming down his face. This was all his fault._

_"Takeru-kun!" Hikari's words cut through his thoughts, and he tried to wipe his eyes. He couldn't let Hikari see him like this or she would panic too. Somehow, he had to give her hope. Wasn't that his whole purpose to the group or something? His so called "amazing powers of Hope" that never seemed to matter or make anything better?_

_"Angemon will be okay!" Takeru smiled as bright as he could, having faked happiness so many times in his life by now that he could convince anyone. He'd done it when he was a child and his family was breaking apart to keep his parents from seeing how much he was suffering, he'd done it around his brother for the same reason, he continued to do it even after their break up, and he was just going to have to do it now too._

_Takeru tried to urge the girl to climb more, but right as she began doing so, a sword cut the top of the rope right by her hands._

_"I thought I told you that there's nowhere left to run." Piemon's smug voice called up to them, and Takeru's heart stopped in his chest. The rope didn't fall for some reason, instead the part of it that continued on up above them disappeared. They had nowhere else to climb, and as if that wasn't already bad enough, he felt Piemon's hand grab his leg and pull._

_Takeru didn't hear what Piemon said, his ears ringing with terror again. When Hikari grabbed his hand to try and pull him away from the evil Digimon his eyes opened wide, and he snapped back to reality._

_"Let go of my hand! He'll get you too Hikari-chan!" Takeru hollered at her._

_"No! I'll never let go!" Hikari's words confused Takeru. Why would she believe in him now, after all of this? What could he have possibly done to make her think that he was worth staying behind for, when she'd even ran away from Sora's protection?_

_"Then fall together!" Piemon's words echoed in Takeru's ears, and before he knew it the bottom of the rope was cut too, and they were falling. Hikari shrieked and grabbed his hand, Takeru closing his eyes and trying to breathe. Why hadn't she left him and just tried to get away without him? He felt her hand slip away and she was falling away from him. They weren't going to make it, he just knew it. Her belief had been for nothing._

_A jingling sound caught his attention, and he grabbed Yamato's doll off of his backpack. His brother... as he looked at it, he could hear the other boy's voice telling him not to give up, just as he'd always said._

_'As my younger brother, I know you'll never give up no matter what happens.' Yamato's voice echoed through his memories. 'You've got to hang in there and summon all of your strength.' Was this really a memory, or was his brother somehow talking to him even as a doll?_

_His brother had always told him that, because he saw something in Takeru that he himself couldn't see. Hikari could see it too, apparently. So why couldn't he see it? Had he ever really tried as hard as he could to believe in himself though? No, not really, and maybe that's why he couldn't see his own strength. There was always some doubt in his mind no matter what he said or did, and he'd never realized it._

_"I won't give up." The words Takeru spoke at that moment as he neared the ground were firm. "I'll NEVER give up!" As he watched Hikari falling next to him, Takeru decided to truly believe it this time. If they died then this world and their own would be destroyed. Everyone would be gone, not just the ones he'd already lost. His mother, father, brother... everyone. Broken or not, he still had them, but he wouldn't soon if he just gave up like this. Hikari too... he would lose her._

_"Angemon!" Takeru screamed, mustering all of the hope he possibly could into his heart, and finally, for the first time, his crest began to glow. He felt a warmth in his chest as his Digimon began to evolve beneath them and before he knew it, HolyAngemon had caught them. A miracle had happened; they had survived when they surely should have fallen to their deaths._

_Takeru smiled and looked over at Hikari next to him, also being held by the angel Digimon. He hadn't failed and had actually protected her like Sora had asked... Hikari had believed in him for some reason, and when he believed in himself too, they had both been saved. Maybe he really did have some kind of "power of Hope". He wasn't sure, but Hikari seemed to have a special power of her own, and if she believed in him, then he could too._

* * *

Takeru stared down at his hands, which were currently resting in his lap as an emotionless expression settled on his face. The bench he sat on was hard and uncomfortable, located beneath the bridge that connected the two separated school buildings. Hikari had sat on this same bench once, just before she'd been called into the Dark Ocean.

Memories of a sorely won battle flashed through the blond's mind, of one where victory had meant nothing. He'd failed two people that day; his captured comrade who was now a brainwashed slave of the Kaiser, and... her.

He'd tried so hard to be the one to save Hikari, but no matter how much hope he'd mustered, or how many ideas he'd thought of, it hadn't mattered. He just hadn't been able to get around those _fucking_ Unimon. They'd always found a way to block his path to her, and hearing her screams of pain and terror had cut through his soul like a hot blade. In the end Taichi had to be the one to rescue her, and she'd been really hurt because of it. Had he been able to reach her when she had needed him from the start, she might have been well enough to make it to school today. Instead she lay in bed at home, her throat so raw that she couldn't speak, her right hip hurting so much that she could hardly move, and her body littered in bandages from the cuts and bruises that the Unimon had caused.

Takeru put his face in his hands and felt tears well up against his palms. His eyes stung and his nose started to get stuffed up.

At least mostly everyone else had turned out alright enough to fall back into their usual routine on Monday. Obviously Hikari was out of commission, and Taichi wasn't feeling so great either, so he'd offered to stay and care for both himself and his sister at home. Other than that, Koushiro had a bit of a limp to his step but he was getting by, Sora's shoulder was sore so she was getting extra help at work, and Iori was now the one on crutches. He seemed extremely depressed about having to miss Kendo for a while, but Takeru knew there was more causing his sadness than just that. At least it provided a believable story to the public.

The older Chosen had simply told their family the truth about what happened, and their friends some story about falling down or pulling a muscle, or whatever. Iori had "tripped on a curb walking home", and Taichi and Hikari had "fallen out of a tree". There was a plague that had infected all of them though, one that wouldn't heal so easily. No one had spoken very much or been able to get enthused about anything for the remainder of the weekend, and it had followed them into Monday as well.

The warning bell for 4th period roll call rang out. Takeru sighed and stood, wiping his eyes as best he could. He'd managed to keep a fake smile on for his first three classes well enough, but seeing Miyako and Iori at first lunch before 4th period had put a crack in the mask. It began to splinter and fray as he helped them cheer up, and before the blond knew it, tears were tugging at his eyes. So he'd made up some excuse to leave and found his way over to this bench to just... let it out. He'd cried for a few minutes before he calmed down and started to think about... everything, and here he was now, tears tugging again when he had to get to class.

The blond growled and clenched his eyes shut, opening them a few seconds later and staring up at the sky above him. He mustered all of his strength and somehow managed to get a new mask back on his face. Without all the years of practice he probably wouldn't have been able to do it, but he supposed that was one of his skills... being fake. He was the child of Hope, and yet he was just a mass of empty, failed promises.

Well, if everyone else needed him to be the Child of Hope, with that golden smile and the strong encouragement, then he'd try his best. He bottled everything up all the time anyway, what did it matter if he had to do it now too?

The boy stood up and turned to walk around a corner, some of his basketball friends picking up their stuff for class. Takeru smiled at them and waved. They repeated the gesture and fell for the trick entirely, just like everyone always did.

* * *

Ken typed at his keyboard, eyes steady and focused. The Chimeramon project was coming along great and it might even be finished soon, he just needed to get some more parts. So far he had most of what he needed but was having trouble locating the rest. He wouldn't give up though. No matter how hard it was, this project was vital to his success. There was no room for failure at all. He hadn't been working on it long today, but he had many hours ahead of him to figure it all-

Ken jumped in his seat as a crash from somewhere out in the hallway echoed through the door and into the Control Room. The Kaiser growled and cursed Motomiya's name, pressing a button that turned on one of his many screens. The video before him was the security camera feed from the hallway just outside, and he glared at it furiously. However, it only lasted a second or two before his features softened and he sighed. One of the guards had simply dropped some equipment on the floor and it had made a very loud crashing noise. Right... it couldn't have been Motomiya's fault, because he was...

Ken groaned, shaking his head and getting back to work. Ah, right, the remaining parts to Chimeramon. He already had a set of arms but he wanted to have another, and preferably from a dark Digimon to increase its attack power. He also needed a head of some kind, though he wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for yet. He was pretty satisfied with everything else though, and couldn't see much more room for improvement.

Ken continued typing, the silence in the room echoing loudly around the tyrant. His ears starting to ring a bit, as they often did when it remained quiet for a very long time. His eyes started to feel heavy and he rubbed them hard, shaking his head afterward. Very quickly his eyes drifted away from his screen and over to the corner of the room for no apparent reason. He cleared his throat and forced himself to look back at the computer, continuing his typing. Soon his fingers began to slow, however, and before he knew it he was just staring straight ahead. He squinted at the screen, but it didn't help him focus. It was just... so... quiet!

Well of course it was quiet; he'd ordered everyone to leave him alone so he could finally get some of his fucking work done!

When a cough from outside the Control Room floated under the door, the image of Daisuke's face flashed through Ken's mind and he glared at the door. What was that nasty little rat up to now? Was he trying to-

"Ken!" The tyrant hollered at himself, glaring at his hands."Motomiya. Daisuke. Can. Not. Bother. You. Any. More. Because. He. Is. A. Slave. Now." His voice was filled with frustration and finalization. That stupid boy was ruining his concentration and plaguing his mind even as a brainwashed slave for fuck's sake! After everything the retched boy had done, it didn't really surprise him that his presence haunted him now. It would just take more time than he had hoped to get used to the fact that Daisuke was finally gone.

He tried to get back to work, but the same things as before happened within a few minutes or so. Ken rubbed his temples and sighed, giving up for a while. He needed a break, and then he could get back to his project later or something. For now maybe he'd just go for a walk around the base to relax, or lay down in his bed for a while. Just... something to help him feel refreshed. Or maybe he'd just take another shower or something.

The tyrant stood and left the Control Room, ordering his guards to keep everyone out of there until he returned, even Wormmon. As he proceeded down the hallways he began to feel a bit better, his mind less scattered and his eyes not as thick. Maybe he just needed to do this more often, walk around and get some time away from the Control Room.

He rounded a corner and realized that he'd ended up walking past the dungeon that Daisuke was in. Had it been on accident though? Some kind of unconscious attempt to see his prisoner? Why in the world would he want to see him? He supposed it could be a good idea though, for the sake of closure. He was apparently still wound up and paranoid of the damned terrorist redhead, so maybe it would help to once again see that he could no longer do anything to get in his way.

Nodding, Ken turned around and walked up to the dungeon doors, grasping them with his hands. He frowned, a strange emotion filling his heart as he looked straight ahead of him. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, exactly. He was probably just paranoid still.

He pulled the doors open and walked inside, making his way past the many cells in the room. Eventually he reached the largest one all the way in the back and pulled out his keys, opening the cell door. It creaked loudly as it swung towards the hallway, and Ken walked inside.

"Yes master?" The other boy asked as he sat up from the bed and stood up straight.

Ken felt a heaviness settle in his chest as he looked the other boy in the eyes. They were... different, and yet he hadn't put the glowing red effect in the Bio Ring's programming. They were still brown as usual, but now they were empty and hollow. There was no more life there, and the tyrant felt nausea tugging at his stomach.

_"Osamu-chan...?" Ken whimpered from the sidewalk as his arms began shaking uncontrollably, his brother lying lifeless on the road in front of him. His eyes were halfway closed, but the parts that Ken could see were... empty. There was nothing there, no life at all. He was dead, and it was all his fault._

The tyrant hissed and shook his head, pushing back the unwanted memories that he refused to acknowledge. He'd come here to show himself just how suppressed his human prisoner was, and he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that.

"Motomiya," Ken began. "Where does your loyalty lie?"

"With you, master." Daisuke replied simply, correctly.

"And what is your purpose now?" Ken asked, forcing a smirk on his face that, for some reason, wasn't coming naturally to him.

"To devote my life to you." Daisuke replied once again, giving the correct answer just like before.

"But what if your friends try to stop you from serving me?" Ken's eyes narrowed a bit.

"Then they will die." Daisuke didn't even flinch when he said it. His eyes remained exactly the same, as well as his facial expression. "They are neither friends nor allies. They are intruders in our territory, and if they won't leave of their own volition then they will be exterminated."

Ken felt his eyes flinch a bit, hearing such unnatural words coming from the other boy. He cleared his throat and shook his head after that, forcing the smirk back on his face. He... he was just getting used to hearing Daisuke speak that way, is all. It would take some time but he'd get used to it.

"Master," Daisuke began again and Ken felt the flinch come back to his face. Why was it bothering him so much to hear the other boy call him master? "Why do you ask me these questions? "

"You will speak when spoken to!" The tyrant snapped, taking the irritation at himself out on his prisoner.

"I apologize, master." Daisuke didn't change his facial expression or even look sad at getting in trouble, as he would have surely done if he was truly loyal to Ken. Well no, if Daisuke was actually himself, he would have scoffed and spouted a bunch of angry words, littered with curses. After that he probably would have thrown something at Ken and demanded this and that. Ken felt himself chuckle a bit at the thought, knowing Daisuke far too well by now-

With a loud growl the tyrant shook his head and clenched his fists with frustration. Motomiya was a nuisance and always had been, he hated him, and never wanted to see him again. He was gone! He had finally been rid of him like he'd wished, and he wasn't about to let that victory be-

_"Oh, Osamu-chan!" Mrs. Ichijouji smiled brightly, her eldest son's report card in her hand. "You got all A's again, good job! I knew you could do it though. I didn't have any doubts."_

_Ken watched as Osamu smiled back at his mother and nodded simply, clearly not having anything to actually say to her. His mother had pretty much said it all for him once she looked at the paper. The younger Ichijouji son held his own report card in his hand, and he felt his face fall a bit._

_"H-Here mama..." Ken sighed and gave it to her, already knowing exactly what she was going to say._

_"Oh, thanks Ken-chan." She looked at the paper, and a sigh followed her words. "Well, at least you didn't get all C's again this time, there are a few B's here. Try to do better next time though, okay?"_

_"Yeah." Ken turned and left the room without another word, tears tugging at his eyes that he didn't want anyone to see. He had studied so hard and for so long to get that B in math... but what did it matter? He might as well just fail all of his classes since he'd never make his parents proud anyway._

_Ken just wished that Osamu would vanish or something... just go away! That way for once in his life he could make someone proud of his improvement, without 4.0 Osamu casting a shadow over him._

_"Osamu..." Ken whispered under his breath. "I wish you would just disappear!"_

_The sound of screeching tires echoed around the street, and when Ken turned around to see what had happened, he was met with-_

The tyrant backed away from his prisoner and put his face in his hands, his back smacking into the bars of the cell. No... no, this wasn't the same. What he'd done to Daisuke, it wasn't what had happened with Osamu. It was just... it wasn't...

Ken felt himself snap with anger and his hand pull out the whip that always hung against his side. He flicked it and the end snapped against the prisoner's arm. Daisuke flinched for a second but straightened himself afterward, replacing the pained expression with a blank face. Ken flicked the whip again, this time at the other boy's face. The prisoner gasped and stumbled back into the wall of the cell. After that he stood up straight, and just like before, removed the emotion from his face.

_'I didn't kill him.'_ Ken felt his arms shaking violently as he backed away from the empty human, gripping his whip again. _'He's still there, Daisuke is still there. It's not like Osamu. He's not dead.'_

The whip slashed against Daisuke's side, and then the side of his head. The boy clenched his eyes shut and grunted, but he didn't get angry or defend himself. He simply got back into his previous position and stared straight ahead as programmed.

"Stop it!" Ken hollered and grabbed his prisoner's shirt, shoving him back up against the wall. Daisuke's head hit the cement behind him, but he didn't react to it. "Get angry damn it!" Ken hollered again. "Yell at me, punch me, _do_ something!" He knew the other boy was still there deep down, it would just take more to bring him back out.

The tyrant pulled his arm back and punched the other boy as hard as he could in the face, kicked him in the gut, and threw him on the floor of the prison cell. Daisuke got up on his hands and knees, shook his head, and stood back up. His face was void of emotion again and he didn't move any further.

Ken felt tears tug at his eyes and his arms shake even more than they had before. Was he really gone now? There was nothing left of his soul or personality, just an empty body filled with programming? Had he... killed Daisuke, just like he'd killed-

"No!" Ken screamed and pulled at his hair, closing his eyes and shaking his head back and forth. "No, no, no! I don't care what happens to you! I hate you!"

Ken grabbed the other boy by his hair and threw him against the bars of the cell door. Daisuke finally cried out with pain and held his head, having hit the metal pretty hard. The sound of Daisuke's pained expression, in addition to the fact that there was blood on the other boy's hands, made Ken's stomach drop. The tyrant walked over to his prisoner and slowly pulled the other boy's head down in front of him so that he could look.

There was a pretty bad cut and it was bleeding into his hair. It wasn't as easy to see due to the prisoner's natural hair color, but it was there. He'd be okay probably, but he should get it cleaned up before it got infected or something. Upon further inspection the boy had large cuts and gashes on his body from the whippings, and his legs were a bit shaky, most likely from pain.

Well Ken got what he wanted, some kind of emotion from the other boy, but it hadn't helped. In fact he felt a lot worse now. Tears were tugging at his eyes and he felt even more sick to his stomach than before. He... he was a terrible person. He'd killed Daisuke's soul, and then punished him for it, as though it was his fault or something.

_"Ken!" Osamu's angry voice cut through the silence of the room, startling the younger boy. He looked up at his brother, his wet backpack in his hand. Ken felt his heart sink into his stomach, realizing what had happened and why Osamu was upset. "You left this sitting on the balcony." Osamu growled and threw it on the bedroom floor in front of his younger brother._

_Ken stood up and hung his head. "I-I forgot to bring it in-"_

_"I know you forgot!" Osamu cut the other boy off and Ken felt tears tug at his eyes. "And what do you know, it rained today, so now all of my schoolwork is ruined. All the hours I spent on those worksheets down the fucking drain. I might have to pay a fine for my books too!"_

_Ken didn't say anything, knowing that nothing would make his brother feel better. Chances were high that anything he did would just get him in more trouble, even doing nothing at all._

_"Don't just stand there staring at the ground, what do you have to say for yourself?" Osamu demanded, walking up and grabbing the collar of Ken's shirt. "You should be upset for what you did!"_

_Ken was scared, and even if he could have thought of something to say, it had been chased out of his throat now. He opened his mouth but no sound came out._

_"Ugh!" Osamu threw the other boy onto the bedroom floor and Ken hit his head on the wall, whimpering as pain seared through his body. He sat up and brought his knees to his chest, sobbing quietly._

_"Ken..." Osamu knelt down next to him and the younger boy felt his body flinch a bit, afraid of the larger boy lashing out again. "Ken I'm sorry..." Ken relaxed a bit as his brother's fingers ran through his hair, which did help soothe his aching skull. "I'm so sorry Ken-chan..." Osamu's words were strained, and when Ken looked up to meet his brother's eyes finally, he realized that tears were there. "It's just so hard to deal with all of this. Mom and dad, school, the media, all of the drama and pressure... if I make one mistake everyone is so upset, so much more than a normal person and... I just can't control myself sometimes."_

_Ken smiled and hugged his brother, the other boy flinching a bit with surprise. "I know Osamu-chan." Ken replied quietly. "It's really hard for you, I forgive you."_

_"I'm a terrible person..." Osamu's words were so quiet that the smaller boy had nearly missed them._

_"No!" Ken pulled away and gave his brother a stern look. "You're not terrible! You're the best brother ever! You blow bubbles with me, you're so smart and good at everything you do, and you take me places when mom and dad are gone, and..." Ken felt his head fall a bit, sadness in his heart. "Don't think that, okay? You're my best friend..."_

_Osamu smiled softly and kissed the top of his brother's head, standing up and offering him a hand."Yeah well, you're gentle and kind which I'm not, I'm just a big ball of stress." When the elder Ichijouji started laughing, Ken felt himself laugh too as he was pulled back up to his feet. He was happy things were better now, he hated when Osamu was that other person... the one that all the pressure created. "Hey Ken?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Don't ever change."_

_Ken smiled at his brother and nodded. "Okay Osamu-chan!"_

The tyrant felt his legs stumble backwards and he hit the wall, his right hand pulling the glasses off his face while his left covered his eyes. Tears filled his palm, and he knew his sobs could be heard all throughout the dungeon. It really was just like Osamu... everything was just like his brother. Daisuke was dead and it was his fault, and he was even starting to lash out just like his brother had done to him. He'd always forgiven Osamu because he knew, if anything, it was really his parent's fault, but...

"Master?" Daisuke reached a hand out, but Ken smacked it away.

"Don't call me that!" Ken's voice cracked and it was hard to breathe. "Call me Ken! That's what you're supposed to call me! Just..."

Ken left the prisoner's cell, slammed the door shut and ran back out into the hallway as fast as he could. He slammed the door to the dungeons as well, and continued running until he reached his bedroom. Once inside and with the door locked, he slid down the wall into a heap on the floor. After that he pulled his knees up to his chest and tried to take slow, deep breaths. His neck was searing with pain but he pushed it back.

No matter how hard he tried, things just weren't going to back to how they'd been before he'd imprisoned Daisuke anymore, were they? Everything he did to try and go back to an easier part in his life only increased the chaos and confusion, both around him and in his heart. Daisuke had changed things permanently somehow, and Ken didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he was thinking, where he was going, or why he was doing anything anymore.

Well, Ken did know one thing; it was far too late to back out and give up now. He'd just have to push through all of this bullshit as best he could until he could win the fight, or died trying.


	12. Shattered

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 12: Shattered

Author's Note: Happy 13th Digimon Memorial everyone! August 1st, 1999 is when the Adventure kids first got sucked into the Digital World and I always try to do something for the community on this day. So this year I'm updating my story! I worked really hard to have this chapter hit on the Memorial day so that a lot of your questions can be answered. Also, for those of you out there who don't know all of the Japanese titles, "sama" is someone you admire and who is of a higher rank than you. Thanks as always to Ine-Capa and DigiGirl101 for catching my silly mistakes and for your great advice!

* * *

Daisuke walked through the metal corridors, a large box of parts held firmly in his arms. He needed to be very careful not to damage any of the contents inside, as they were vital to his master's work. With the increased activity of the Chosen Children, more Dark Towers were needed around the Digital World to keep the slaves in check, and their territory expanding. Daisuke was determined to spend his every waking moment aiding his master's reign instead of festering in a prison cell.

It had taken far less convincing than Daisuke had expected, actually. He'd assumed that Kaiser-sama would simply refuse and order him to cease the inquiry. However, he had accepted the offer of helping out under the condition that he stay out of sight. Daisuke did not feel the need to question why he would demand such a strange thing, just being of use was enough.

There were many things around the base that he had realized could perform more efficiently while completing tasks for his master. The most noticeable were some of the Digimon slaves themselves. This was not true for all of them, but quite a few were very lazy. They would be instructed to, say, go deliver a message to his master in the Control Room. Rather than walking straight there and doing so, they would dawdle around, chat with the other slaves, and eventually work their way up to the top floor after wasting quite a bit of valuable time. This was unacceptable behavior, and he intended to report it to Wormmon as soon as he could. His master had personally requested that he not speak to him for a while, so the green Digimon would have to deliver his message for him. At least Wormmon seemed to be pretty on top of things, though Kaiser-sama would not agree.

Daisuke entered the Control Room where his master had instructed him to leave the parts. The room was empty, as he had expected it would be. He wasn't sure where to put the box so he just settled with laying it down in the corner. After he'd straightened himself he noticed that a screen was left on. It was the only one, and was the entire source of light in the room.

Upon walking up to the screen, Daisuke discovered an electronic map of quite a large portion of the Digital World. The general geography was drawn out, as well as many black tower-like icons which surely represented currently active Dark Towers. It was far more detailed than the maps on their D3s, that was for sure. In one small area was a tiny blinking black dot that he realized was his master's D3 signal. There was no Dark Tower icon there yet, so the Kaiser was most likely not done building over there yet.

Suddenly the Kaiser's voice sounded in the room and Daisuke tensed up, nervous about breaking his promise to not disturb his master on accident. However, he quickly realized that the voice was electronic and coming through a speaker.

"Wormmon, are you there?" The voice was definitely Kaiser-sama's, but where was the little green insect to answer? He had no idea where to find him or how to work the controls and find his location like his master could do. "Damn it Wormmon!" The Kaiser's voice snapped angrily through the speakers again. "I never need you when you're around, and then when I do you don't fucking answer!"

Daisuke searched for something that could answer the call, but there were so many buttons and switches... there was no way he could figure it out, and pushing random things could really mess something up.

The redhead's eyes moved back over to the lit up map when a lot of blinking caught his attention. He realized that it was the Chosen's signals causing the new tiny blinking dots to show up. There were six of them; Takeru, Miyako and Iori for sure, along with what appeared to be Yamato, Koushiro and Mimi. Hikari was probably still sick at home.

"Wormmon!" The Kaiser's voice snapped again. "Whenever you decide to wake the fuck up, the Chosen are about to attack and I'm missing the main antenna to the Dark Tower. I could cut out half of their attack power if you send someone with it, I can't turn it on without that part. All I have are workers right now, there's no way I can win without at least some backup. Ugh, Wormmon!"

Daisuke whipped around and quickly made his way over to the box that he had sat down on the floor, removing the lid as quickly as he could. He was pretty sure the box was filled with Dark Tower parts if he'd heard correctly, and upon further digging his suspicions were confirmed; he'd found a spare antenna. He needed to take this and some backup to his master immediately. He wasn't supposed to be around Kaiser-sama, but he was sure his master would prefer he brought this to him in this situation. He could always leave right away after that, he wouldn't stick around if his master didn't want him to.

As fast as he could, Daisuke left the Control Room and made his way out into the hallway. "Gorimon." He got the guard's attention. "Master needs immediate backup, I need you to get a group ready for me to take out to him."

"O-Of course!" The Gorimon blinked, startled from his previously spaced-out condition. He pulled out a communication device and spoke into it, his voice echoing over the hallway intercoms. "Immediate order; backup squad 2 to docking room three. Prepare to depart with Daisuke."

Daisuke walked quickly to docking room three, clutching the antenna firmly in his hand. In the room was a very large group of Digimon consisting of Kuwagamon, Meramon, Dobermon and Airdramon. The Meramon were getting themselves atop the flying Digimon, while the fast Dobermon waited for the doors to open before they took off on foot.

"Go!" Daisuke ordered once he got himself on an Airdramon, and the doors opened. They group took off as fast as they could, the Dobermon actually keeping up below the air group. He was able to see the Chosen and Kaiser-sama's icons with his D3's map, but it didn't really indicate what was going on. All he really knew was that they were most likely fighting.

A few minutes later the redhead could see his master in sight. "My Airdramon, take me to the Kaiser." Daisuke ordered quickly. "The rest of you, spread out and even up the fight." The Digimon slaves did as they were instructed, and before Daisuke knew it, he was hovering beside his master.

"I brought the-!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" The Kaiser cut Daisuke off before he could answer the very question being thrown in his face.

"I brought you a spare antenna." Daisuke patiently answered, not wanting to displease his master. "I'll leave now if you wish, but I heard that you needed this over the intercom."

"I..." The Kaiser trailed off, seeming taken by surprise. After a moment or two he growled and held out his hand to take the missing part. "Fine, give it here."

Daisuke nodded and obeyed, putting it in his master's hand. The antenna was wrenched away, scratching the redhead's hand a bit. He didn't mind though, he understood that Kaiser-sama was upset with him. This was to be expected, as he had disobeyed a direct order.

"I'm very sorry master." Daisuke said apologetically and bowed his head, hoping it would please him at least a little bit. "I just didn't trust the foolish slaves to bring it to you undamaged."

"... Alright." The Kaiser sighed and looked away from him, a pained expression on his face that Daisuke didn't understand. Was his presence really that unpleasant? He supposed it was likely, as he wasn't perfect like his master was. At least his initiative in the matter had proved his worth a little. "Just.." The Kaiser suddenly spoke up again, and Daisuke's thoughts were cut off. "You can direct the slaves if you wish, I don't really have the energy right now..."

What was causing Kaiser-sama to feel so down? He didn't normally act like this when a battle wasn't going well, he would get angry or smug; never sad. It must be Daisuke himself that was the problem, he had most likely done something wrong.

"Master, whatever I did to make you upset, I apologize." Daisuke bowed again and looked at the Kaiser nearby. "I'll make it up to you by-"

"Shut up!" The Kaiser snapped suddenly and Daisuke shut his mouth immediately, as ordered. "Don't fucking apologize to me!"

"I'm... I didn't mean to." Daisuke looked away, clearly unworthy of being near his master for whatever he had done incorrectly. "Do you want me to direct them?"

"I don't care what you do." Kaiser-sama answered exasperatedly. "But stop looking sad, stop acting so submissively, and stop calling me that!"

"How should I act Kaiser-sama?" Daisuke asked , still without looking. This was becoming very confusing... his master had given him an order to obey and submit to anything the Kaiser told him to do, and to call him "master", and yet he was now telling him to do the opposite of that. It was beyond his understanding to act that way, and he was sure it went against the Bio Ring's programming.

"No, no sama!" Ken ground his palm over his forehead, appearing to be getting a headache. "Just call me Ken, that's the only thing I want you to call me."

"Okay, K...K-Ken." Daisuke tried to say it, but it just felt so disrespectful. To use his personal name without even a title of any kind... it wasn't right. "Ken." He tried again, to get a better feel for it, though it still felt just as unnatural.

Suddenly his master started laughing and shook his head, but never looked over at Daisuke. "Wow... you finally said what I wanted and I still can't stand it."

Daisuke didn't know what to say. Nothing he did was good enough... he just couldn't make his master happy, and it was surely his own fault somehow. He tried his best, but he just couldn't seem to do what he was asked. He had to keep trying though, for the sake of his master.

"What else can I do to please you?" Daisuke asked, trying to improve himself to the best of his ability. When his master cringed at the question though, he wasn't sure if he'd worded it correctly.

"Nothing." Ken said quietly, and finally looked at him. The look in his eyes was sad, and made it seem as though he himself was realizing something. "There's nothing you can do like this."

Like this? What did that mean? That he was imperfect and foolish, perhaps? That was just his nature though, he couldn't change it... no one could compare to his master.

"Stop that." Ken snapped and Daisuke looked up at him. "Wipe that emotionless look off your face, it doesn't suit you at all."

"Yes Ken." Daisuke nodded, trying to create an emotion of some kind. "How should I look, then?"

"Determined." His master answered immediately, knowing exactly what he wanted apparently. "Have confidence and show it while you lead them, and if you can't do that, then just go back to the base."

Well at least that was something he could try. He turned to face the battle that had been raging on below them as they spoke, the Chosen unable to reach them through the swarm of slaves protecting the Kaiser and Daisuke. Determined and confident... it felt familiar he supposed, but not entirely something he could duplicate anymore. It was much easier to show no emotion at all than to show those. He would try though, for his master's sake. He could be determined to protect Kaiser-sama from danger, and confident that he could come up with a strategy good enough to chase off these Chosen fools before they stopped his master from accomplishing his goals.

"Meramon, attack the cliffs!" Daisuke called out to the blazing Digimon on the ground below. "Cause a rock slide and crush the Chosen beneath it!"

The redhead noticed his master twitch beside him, and upon looking at him, saw that his eyes had widened quite a bit. The Meramon began powering up their fireball attacks, and Daisuke wasn't sure what to do. The look in his master's eyes... he wasn't pleased with his direction for some reason. This wasn't what he wanted them to do.

"Master?" Daisuke asked, and then shook his head. "I mean Ken, what's-?"

Before he could finish the question the fireballs were sent into the air, crashing into the rocky cliffs nearby. Large chunks of debris crashed down and the Chosen's Digimon partners were barely fast enough to protect them from being crushed under the weight. The Digimon had at least taken pretty big hits from the rock slide itself, so the attack hadn't been a total waste. However...

"Ken, what's the matter?"

"Don't ask me questions!" His master snapped at him, and Daisuke looked back down at the battle. He nodded and continued the attack.

"Kuwagamon, Meramon and Airdramon, cut off the Digimon from their partners. Separate them at all costs." Daisuke ordered and looked over at the rest of the troops. "Dobermon, you go after the Humans themselves; tear them to shreds."

"What are you doing?" The Kaiser asked suddenly, eyes filled with disbelief. "You're supposed to defeat the Digimon, why are you attacking the Humans?"

"I'm..." Daisuke trialed off. "I'm just doing what you would do, sir." He was unable to say just 'Ken' again, he just couldn't do it, but he'd get in trouble if he said Kaiser-sama or master. He hoped this compromise would be alright. "Cut off the humans from their source of power, and cut off the power from their energy source. Defeat the real threat; the Chosen themselves."

Ken's expression was unreadable to Daisuke, as though a hundred thoughts were flying through his master's mind all at once. For a moment he seemed surprised, but then it quickly became sad, and then turned angry. Many other emotions followed, none lasting long.

A loud scream cut off the exchange, and it was then that the redhead realized Miyako had been pinned down by a Dobermon. He heard the other Chosen shout from nearby, but it was hard to understand what they were saying from across the distance.

"S-Stop!" Ken stammered, and the Dobermon looked up at him from atop the purple haired girl. Daisuke also looked at him, feeling extremely confused.

"Is killing the Chosen no longer the objective, sir?" The redhead asked, not sure how to direct the troops when the very goal itself was in question.

"I..." The Kaiser didn't seem happy with what he was just asked. Once again many emotions flashed across his face, and his eyes were even watering up a bit. Was he... on the verge of tears? But why? What had caused his master so much turmoil?

The Kaiser's hands went up to his forehead and gripped at his hair, his head shaking back and forth. He groaned and clutched harder, surely in pain from how hard he was yanking. Daisuke moved the Airdramon closer and walked over to the other, placing a hand on his shoulder. He seemed startled by the sudden contact though and he jerked away, tripping over his feet and stumbling. Daisuke grabbed the Kaiser's arm and pulled him away from the edge of the Digimon's back just in time.

"Sir!" Daisuke gasped. "Why did you do that? You nearly fell off!"

"G-GET AWAY FROM ME!" Ken screamed and shoved him off the Airdramon, and back onto his own. The redhead landed on his ass and cringed, nearly rolling off himself. "Just retreat!" Ken hollered loudly to everyone in the area. "Get back to the base, forget the tower!"

Daisuke didn't question or disobey the order, and simply let his Airdramon follow the group without another word. Before he knew it they were back at the base, and he was being lowered down onto the ground by the Airdramon. His master was already nearly at the exit door, as though his goal was to get away from Daisuke as quickly as possible.

"Master!" The redhead said before he could catch himself. "Please, just tell me what I'm doing wrong." He once again placed a hand on the other Human's shoulder, having had to run to catch up. They were now standing in the exit doorway. "I'll do whatever it takes to be good enough for you."

The Kaiser didn't turn around to look at him, and in fact his face fell as his shoulders began to shake. Was he... crying? Or was he just so angry that he couldn't control himself?

"Ken..." Daisuke made himself say the now-correct term for his master. "How come everything I do makes you more upset? I don't understand, I'm acting exactly as I'm supposed to but all I do is disappoint you further. I'll do anything for you, I'm trying to-"

The Kaiser whipped around and covered Daisuke's mouth with his gloved hand, silencing him. The Digimon that were with them all awkwardly left the docking room, sensing that they weren't desired in the immediate vicinity anymore. Once they had left there was a very tense silence in the room, Kaiser-sama's hand still covering Daisuke's mouth.

The silence continued, neither of them moving with the exception of Ken's still shaking shoulders. His eyes were facing the floor and his spiked hair was covering his face, so the redhead had no idea what expression he held. If his master wanted him to be silent, then he would be.

Eventually Ken's shoulders stilled, and he finally looked up at Daisuke. His expression was very much unreadable to the redhead. There were many emotions there, but none were ones that he could really relate to. A small part of his mind could recall feeling them in the past, but not enough to really grasp it. All he knew for sure was that Kaiser-sama was not happy.

"Y-You..." The Kaiser's voice hitched and he took a deep, slow breath. "I can't stand you... I can't stand... why are you so quiet?"

"I..." Daisuke trailed off, his mind not computing any of this. "I thought you wanted me to be silent, master."

"No!"

"But... but you-"

"Yell at me! Scream that you hate me!"

Daisuke stared at his master and blinked what must have been ten times in confusion. "I..." He trailed off once again, clearing his throat to try and follow the order given to him. "I hate... I... I-I hate..." The redhead shook his head and took a deep, slow breath. "I hate... y-you... I hate... I-"

"Stop saying it, yell it!" The Kaiser cut him off, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him roughly. Daisuke opened his mouth but no sound came out. Finally he shook his head slowly; he couldn't do it. It simply wasn't in his mind's programming to do that anymore. He could possibly yell at an enemy, but not his master. There was no possible way.

Tears were for sure in the Kaiser's eyes now, and he appeared to be having trouble breathing. Before Daisuke even had a chance to react though, his master's nails pressed into his shoulders and the pain was quite sharp, but he did his best not to react. Then the other boy dug his fingers underneath the Bio Ring around his neck and he appeared to be feeling for something. A loud beep sounded suddenly as a button was pushed, and the metal shattered and fell to the floor.

A white light engulfed the redhead's eyes and a loud, high pitched ringing sound filled his ears. He screamed and a sharp pressure throbbed against his temples. He gripped at the hair on the sides of his head, pulling hard. When the room began to spin around him, Daisuke shut his eyes and laid down on the floor. He did his best to keep himself from throwing up.

He was vaguely aware of a soft, shaking hand on his shoulder and a voice in his ear. He couldn't make out any words over the ringing though, and his balance was so off that he could barely tell what was happening anyway. He was pretty sure the one talking was Ken though... Ken...

_"Ah, Hikari." Daisuke's sarcastic voice echoed from above the battlefield, the girl looking up to meet him in the eyes. "Let me show you just **how much** you mean to me."_

_Miyako ran towards him with her arms open for a hug, and Daisuke pulled his hand back slowly. Hikari and Takeru seemed to notice what he was going to do, so he swung quickly. The back of his hand connected with her face, and with a shriek she fell to the ground._

_Takeru grabbed the dark ring around the redhead's neck, but the moment his hands touched it, a white light erupted from it. The blond screamed as powerful electricity sparked and flared through his body, and he fell to the ground in a shivering heap._

_Hikari crawled away from the Unimon, clutching her stomach and blood running from the many cuts across her skin. She had a wince on her face, and her limbs shook from the effort it took to move._

_"I thought the lenses represented our current relationship well." Daisuke chuckled, indicating towards the now-shattered lenses._

Daisuke opened his eyes and they met with Ken's, and a deep rage exploded from within his chest; one that he'd been unable to unleash for quite some time now.

_Taichi threw the rocks away from the pile desperately. It didn't take long for him to find Agumon's beaten and unconscious form underneath, and he pulled him out as gently as was surely possible. He set him down on the ground, cuts and bruises all over the Digimon's body, and began looking for V-Mon._

_"Why do you care about V-Mon?" Daisuke walked over to him and watched, genuine confusion in his voice. "He's your enemy and he was weak, just let him die."_

_Taichi gasped as his body was sent into a spasm, pain searing through his body. Immediately his head hit the ground and his arms and legs began twitching uncontrollably._

_As Daisuke retreated, he could see hundreds of sparks and explosions flying around the still-tied up Chosen Children on the ground below. He continued back to the base though, unconcerned._

_Ken grabbed the other boy by his hair and threw him against the bars of the cell door. Daisuke finally cried out with pain and held his head, having hit the metal pretty hard._

"You..." Daisuke's arms shook and his ears were still ringing. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" His arm swung and connected hard with the other boy's face, a loud crack echoing around the room that, even through the ringing sound, the redhead heard. His hand erupted with pain but he ignored it. He forced himself onto his hands and knees, and then weakly up onto his feet.

The room was still spinning and there were white lights dancing around his eyes, but through the haze he could still see Ken trying to sit up and holding his cheek. He was so angry that his body was shaking, and there was only one thing in his mind now.

"AHHHH!" Daisuke screamed furiously and threw himself onto the other boy, sending them both rolling onto the hard metal floor. He easily rolled Ken onto his back and sat on top of him, pulling his arm back and trying to once again connect it with the other boy's face. He hit him twice, but the third punch missed as the room spun, and it instead connected with the floor. Ken hadn't even attempted to dodge it, or any of the other ones in fact.

Daisuke gasped and held his hand, though it did not end his rage. He forced himself to his feet, grabbed Ken by his hair, and yanked him up with him. After that he threw the other boy into the wall, who hit it with a crash and landed in a heap on the floor.

_The tyrant turned his head to face the other as well, a look of exasperation in his eyes. It didn't hold any real strength though, because only a few seconds later his face broke into a smile again; one that Daisuke couldn't deny was downright gorgeous. Even Hikari's smile just didn't compare to this. On top of that, his hair was stuck to his face and his pajamas clung to his body just like before in the bathroom. And just like before, Daisuke found himself unable to look away._

_The goggle-boy fell speechless on the floor, all of his previous thoughts wiped from his head. It was like every millisecond that he spent looking at Ken erased a little more of his senses. He tried to figure out what the feeling in his chest meant or what he should do about it, but nothing came. He felt his eyes travel up and down the other boy's body, and by the time they made their way back up to his face, there was only one single idea that he could grasp onto. It tugged at his mind and body relentlessly, with more strength than he could fight. And in the end, it won._

"I trusted you!" Daisuke screamed with a horse voice and grabbed a box of spare Dark Tower parts from the ground nearby. "I thought there was some fucking good in you!" He shouted as he threw the box at the other boy, the lid opening up halfway there and spilling the contents all over the place. Ken got back up on his feet with shaking legs after that. "You really are just an evil piece of shit!" Daisuke screamed at him. "I hate you... I _HATE_ you! Are you happy now? You fucking betrayed the tiny bit of trust I had for-"

The room spun again, this time much stronger than Daisuke could fight. His body was beyond weak, the small amount of strength and energy he'd had was now fully drained from going so berserk. The last thing he saw before the room went black was Ken's body going limp and falling to the floor as well, and that time it hadn't been from anything Daisuke had done.

* * *

Wormmon entered the infirmary slowly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Human inside. He needed to rest for quite a while after what had happened in the docking room.

The green Digimon looked at Daisuke's sleeping form and his face fell into sadness. The boy really hated Ken now didn't he...? He just didn't understand what was going on, and that was the real problem. He didn't know about Ken's past or what the spore was doing to him. He didn't blame, if Wormmon had been in the boy's shoes he'd probably despise Ken too. No matter how much pain Ken inflicted on him he'd still never, not even once, put a dark ring on him. Wormmon didn't really know why that was honestly, but he wasn't going to question it.

There was a quiet beeping sound from the machines in the room that echoed over the metal walls. Wormmon made his way over to Daisuke's bed and sighed as thoughts ran through his mind. Keeping the spore unknown to Ken had been one of the most difficult tasks Wormmon had attempted in his life. Having to alter security cameras and computer histories so that Ken would never stumble upon his work wasn't something he could do himself, he had to convince Andromon to do it. He didn't dare take the noble Digimon's dark ring off either, because he very well may just attack Ken. So instead he had to convince the mechanical Digimon that helping Wormmon conceal the activities was in their master's best interest, and was in fact, what Ken wanted.

Slaves weren't the smartest of creatures, as their own free will had been taken away and all they really knew was how to follow directions. Chances were high that Wormmon would have never been able to convince Andromon to help him if it weren't for the ring around his neck. Ironic was the fact that it was only because Andromon was enslaved by the dark ring in the first place that he was able to convince him to help Ken. Then again, while Wormmon hadn't been given any official status by Ken, it was just a well known fact around the base that Wormmon had a higher level of authority than any of the other slaves. That made it a bit easier he supposed.

There was a shuffle in the room and Wormmon looked over to where the sound had come from, seeing Daisuke's eyes fluttering open slowly. The blanket was now wrapped chaotically around his body. He must have been tossing and turning...

At least Wormmon had put Ken in a different infirmary from Daisuke's, fearing that a fight may break out between them again the moment they woke up. Of course, he hadn't told any of the other slaves his real reason for separating them. He needed to talk to Daisuke, alone. In all honesty he should have done this a while ago but he had been too scared of the possible consequences. Now though... after what had happened, he couldn't just sit in the background and let the young Chosen leader hate Ken. Without Daisuke's help there was no chance of getting Ken back.

Wormmon made his way over to Daisuke's bed, the redhead not fully awake yet. His eyes were halfway open and his arms were stretching high above his head. He winced and shut his eyes, some kind of pain moving through him.

"Daisuke?" Wormmon said quietly, not wanting to startle the boy. His effort was a bit pointless though, as the redhead jumped anyway and appeared to hurt himself more in the process. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you."

"H-Huh?" Daisuke squinted and tried to focus on Wormmon, still not appearing totally aware. After that he looked around, blinking quite a bit. He sat up slowly and managed to get himself in an upright position without hurting himself, and then looked back down at the green Digimon.

No words were spoken because immediately an angry look crossed the redhead's face. He looked away and instead focused on the wall across the room. Wormmon understood. He was Ken's partner and he helped the tyrant of his own free will, and that didn't make sense to Daisuke. He probably figured that Wormmon himself was a bit evil at heart to do the things he did. In truth... it was actually that he was weak and couldn't bring himself to take the chances that the Chosen could.

"Daisuke, I wanted to-"

"Explain?" The redhead cut him off, his voice harsh and sharp with frustration.

"Yes." Wormmon answered simply, figuring that any long-winded attempt to apologize was just going to be met with more anger. "Will you let me?"

Daisuke glared and didn't answer right away. He appeared to be thinking about whether or not he even wanted to hear it. He was still very angry, possibly even angrier than before. His fists were shaking and his eyes were narrowed at the wall still.

"What could you possibly say?" The boy finally asked, and Wormmon knew what he was really asking; How could there even be an explanation for what Ken did?

Wormmon sighed and tried to find the right words. "Don't blame him Daisuke, blame me. I'm the real reason all of this happened and hasn't been stopped yet, not-"

"Don't justify his actions!" Daisuke yelled and glared down at Wormmon. "He's the one who did it, not any of the Digimon, not my friends, not any of the slaves, and not you!"

"Do you believe that a person can be responsible for a tragedy from a lack of action?" Wormmon asked calmly, knowing that the boy had every right to be furious with him and Ken. "It's only because I've done nothing that things have gotten this far, and that's not Ken's fault, that's mine alone. I'm not saying he's innocent... I know he has a lot of responsibility to take, but so do I."

Daisuke looked away and back at the wall, glaring still. His shoulders seemed less stiff though, and his clenched fists were no longer shaking.

"If I had done something then none of this would have-"

"Or how about," Daisuke cut him off, anger still fresh in his voice. "If Ken _hadn't _done something, _then_ none of this would have happened. Fine, you're both equally horrible monsters, you win. That doesn't make anything any better."

"No it doesn't." Wormmon looked down at the ground. "But... Ken can't help what he does, he's being controlled and his actions are no longer his own. He has no more free will than his own slaves, but I do... and that's why I'm the real one to blame..."

There was a silence in the room, and Wormmon wasn't sure what to make of the expression on Daisuke's face. It was almost as if he was more upset now, having heard what the small Digimon had just said. The boy took a deep, steadying breath and glared harder at the wall. His eyes were shining with the hint of tears, and he was biting down on his lip.

"Continue." Daisuke finally hissed, his voice quiet but frustrated.

"I will." Wormmon said, and then looked away. "But I need you to follow me into the docking room first. I can't talk to you about this here."

Daisuke didn't move or speak for a while, but after a minute or so passed, he did stand up. It wasn't easy for him to do so, but he was a stubborn boy and that probably helped. Wormmon lead him down the empty, guard-less corridors that the green Digimon had managed to clear. He put all of the guards on different duties for the next hour and shut off the security cameras from Daisuke's infirmary all along the hallway to the docking room.

Once they were inside the docking bay that Daisuke had previously fought Ken in, the two of them faced each other.

"There's something in Ken's body that looks similar to a plant spore, only it's mechanical." Wormmon jumped right into it, feeling tears well up in his eyes as the memories came back to him. "I met Ken three years ago when he came to the Digital World. He was such a kind, sweet boy... anyway, he got in a fight with an evil Digimon named Millenniumon and when it died it shot out many of those mechanical spores. One of them lodged itself into the back of Ken's neck... and that's when he started to change. He became colder and filled with anger, and soon he stopped visiting me. I don't know how much time passed before I saw him again, but when I did... he wasn't my Ken anymore."

Wormmon looked away, trying to keep himself calm enough to finish saying what he wanted to say. "The spore increases the abilities in Humans." He continued after a small pause. "Ken's not really a genius, or a master at Judo, or a star soccer player, or whatever else... it's all the spore. It's giving him these abilities so that he can take over the Digital World, and on top of that it suppresses memories. Ken doesn't really remember me now, and I don't think he even knows that I'm his Digimon partner. All he knows is what the spore tells him. It's controlling him and giving him ideas, like the dark rings and control spires... I don't think Ken really thought of those at all, they were planted in his mind."

Daisuke didn't respond or look at Wormmon, and the green Digimon didn't look at him yet. He had more to say anyway. "Ken didn't have a good childhood, and I know the spore uses that to keep him stuck in darkness." Wormmon felt the tears come back, and one ran down his cheek. "His brother Osamu was a real genius and he overshadowed any of Ken's accomplishments. His parents neglected him because they only cared about the fame his brother gave them, and Ken had no friends as a kid. I think I was his first, aside from Osamu himself. His brother... he wasn't a bad person, but he was very stressed out and would sometimes lash out at Ken. He always forgave Osamu though. I think Ken understood how hard it was for him." Wormmon paused before continuing, keeping his emotions under control as best he could.

"He... he was never the same after Osamu died..." Wormmon spoke quietly. "He had wished many times for his brother to go away, and then he did... and I think deep down he still blames himself for his brother's death. Then the spore made him just like Osamu, and now his parents are just shoving Ken back into his brother's place. In a sense, nothing's changed. Osamu is still the one they're obsessed with, and Ken just lies forgotten in the background."

"How do you know all of this?" Daisuke's voice was almost a whisper as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, and he still wasn't looking at Wormmon.

"I was with Ken for a lot of it." Wormmon sighed. "I've also had Andromon's help with examining the spore for many months now. The slaves listen to just about anything I tell them and don't ask many questions, so it wasn't hard to get him to help me out. As for Osamu... Ken sometimes talks in his sleep when he has bad dreams, and he sees his brother a lot. I don't think he remembers by the time he wakes up, but... I remember."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Daisuke's voice hadn't changed, and Wormmon frowned a bit.

"I should have told you sooner..." Wormmon sighed and looked down at the floor. "Ken needs help or he'll go away forever... his mind already might not be recoverable, but the longer that spore holds onto him the further away he gets. Also..." Wormmon tried to remember the things he and Andromon had researched lately so that he could make this next part understandable for Daisuke. "I know you and Thunderballmon didn't mean to, but his electricity attack hitting Ken instead of you was... not good... it damaged the spore."

"Isn't that a good thing though?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow at the green Digimon, confusion clear on his face.

"Not in this case." Wormmon answered quickly and shook his head. "It wasn't damaged enough to deactivate it, but it's also not functioning properly anymore. Normally it makes its own energy and functions by itself, like a refilling battery that keeps itself running. After that shock though, it can't make that energy anymore so instead it has to use Ken's. A human body can only make so much energy, and the spore has to share that small amount with Ken. At times when it can't take anymore of Ken's energy, he's able to act more like himself and overpower it a bit. That's the real Ken you've met a few times..."

"Is... is that why he faints so much?" Daisuke asked slowly, looking down at his hands now.

"Yes." Wormmon nodded. "If he runs out of energy then he passes out, and the spore is draining it really fast. The more Ken is able to overpower the spore, the more energy it drains to try and overpower him in return, and it just shuts them both down in a sense. It's draining more and more of his energy every day... and soon..." Wormmon blinked repeatedly to try and prevent anymore tears from falling. "I-If it keeps taking away a-all of his energy, then... it could possibly kill him."

Daisuke's eyes widened a bit and he seemed to stiffen up. "How could it kill him? Wouldn't he just pass out a lot or something? I mean, his body will make more..."

"A human body has to have _some_ energy to stay alive, it can't have all of it drained away." Wormmon tried to explain what Andromon had told him. "When Ken passes out from the spore feeding off of him, it never takes all of it away, just enough to knock Ken out and stop his mind from taking control again. The problem is that the spore is starting to use more energy than Ken's body is making... not a lot more, but enough that at the rate it's going, it will use all of it at some point. If that happens... Ken may not wake up again. Andromon is the one who figured all of these things out..."

Daisuke put his face in his hands, seeming overwhelmed and confused.

"I..." Wormmon spoke up again, wanting to finally explain himself. "I didn't understand what was wrong with him at first, and I felt like it was my job to help him, no one else's... but I didn't know how. That's why I just stood by his side and never said anything. Then when I found out about the spore I was scared that it might attack him if he ever found out about it, so I continued staying quiet. I don't know that it has an artificial intelligence of any kind, but there's a chance. At the very least I'm sure it has the sense to defend itself. Ken knowing about it... it might just drain all of his energy right then and there. I... I was scared..."

Daisuke looked down at the floor and slowly sat down. His eyes filled with tears and he pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and burying his head into them. His shoulders shook, and Wormmon was pretty sure that he was crying softly. This must be terribly overwhelming for him... he had hated Ken at first, then found himself trusting him, then was horribly betrayed by him, and now he had to hear all of this... he probably didn't know what to think anymore.

"I know that I'm not going to make this any easier for you..." Wormmon spoke up again and began walking towards the large loading door that the Digimon would enter and exit through. "But the reason I cleared out all of the guards and shut off the cameras was so that I could do this..."

Wormmon reached over and pushed a button on the wall, the large metal doors lifting up and revealing the base to be at ground level. Another door opened, and V-Mon walked out slowly. He seemed confused and disoriented, his dark ring no longer around his neck. In his hands were Daisuke's D3... they could walk right outside if they wanted, and... be free.

Daisuke's head snapped up and he stared in disbelief at the open door, at V-Mon, and at his D3.

"I'm giving you the choice." Wormmon felt his own tears fall again. This was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. "I don't want to let you go, I want you to stay here and help me save Ken... somehow you're able to bring him out and help him take control, and for that reason I _beg_ you to help him. I don't think anyone else can do it... but... but that has to be your choice. If you can't bring yourself to help him anymore... if you've been too betrayed... then please, _please_ just go. You don't deserve to be dragged down into this pit of hell we've fallen into any more than you already have been."

Daisuke stared between Wormmon V-Mon, and then at the open door again. Finally he rose to his feet and slowly made his way over to the large opening in the wall that revealed his chance to go home. To see his friends again, and to have his normal life back. Wormmon sighed and looked down as V-Mon followed him, already knowing what they were going to choose. At least he'd finally done something right. He hadn't done enough to save Ken, but watching Daisuke and V-Mon suffer with them against their will was at least one sin he wouldn't have on his shoulders.

"Once you step outside I'll close the door..." Wormmon trailed off sadly. "It will lock at that point and you won't be able to get back in. At the very least it should keep any slaves from getting outside for a while. You should be able to reach the television just past those trees in time."

The redhead was standing in the threshold now, his right hand resting on the doorway and his left hand holding V-Mon's. One more step forward would be on dirt instead of metal, and they would no longer be inside the base.

"Daisuke..." V-Mon trailed off and looked up at his partner. "I... I don't really understand what's going on... I couldn't hear anything in there."

Daisuke was staring out into the distance, at the mountains and trees. A breeze rolled into the docking room and the boy closed his eyes as his red hair was swept about, a smile on his face. Wormmon was pretty sure the last time he'd felt fresh air was all those months ago when he'd first been captured. Sure, he'd been out of the base while he had the Bio Ring on, but... that wasn't the same. The freedom hadn't been appreciated like this was.

Suddenly the docking room door gave a lurch and began to lower, Daisuke's hand sliding down from the button on the wall by the doorway. Wormmon watched in shock as the boy backed up into the base again, the opening out into the open Digital World getting smaller and smaller. Then, just before the door had shut completely, Daisuke shoved his partner outside through the now-tiny opening.

"Dais-!" V-Mon shrieked, but his voice was cut off as the door closed loudly.

Wormmon continued to stare at the boy as he turned around. He was met with eyes full of determination, as well as sadness.

"V-Mon has my D3, so he can find the others... and go home." Daisuke's voice cracked a bit and he swallowed hard. "He should be out there fighting with the Chosen, not rotting under a dark ring here with me..."

The boy looked away but didn't leave. After some time had passed he spoke up. "I... I haven't forgiven Ken, he needs to make up for what he's done... but... but I won't abandon him either."

Daisuke turned and left the docking room without finishing his thought, heading back towards the infirmary. Wormmon watched him leave with tears in his eyes, but this time, they weren't tears of sadness.

* * *

Author's Note: If anything about this chapter didn't make sense just ask me in a comment and I will answer, assuming you have an account for me to reply to. If not then I can always put a little note at the start of chapter 13 with my reply instead.


	13. Beneath the Ice

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 13: Beneath the Ice

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took me so long to post you guys! I know I've always been a bit slow with updates but this time was like... yeah, I'm sorry. I've had so much work training to get my official state child care license that I don't even get home until around 10pm on weeknights now, and then on weekends I have school and my second job and just... ugh. I have had NO time, and wrote this entire chapter during various lunch breaks before I had to go back to work (one nice thing about living right next to my job lol). Once I finish all this training and pass the big test, I will be able to update regularly again. Anyway, thanks Ine-Capa and DigiGirl101 for your help as always!

Response: So ecwecwecw1 asked me where the heck Daisuke got the fake snakes from in chapter 8, and I wanted to answer that here. So... chapter 8 was probably re-written more times than it was _reviewed_, and amongst all of this re-writing chaos, I ended up accidentally leaving out a paragraph that explained how he got them. I didn't even realize I'd left it out until ecwecwecw1 asked about it! So you remember in chapter 1 how Ken gave Daisuke a shelf that he could speak a title and author into, and it would produce that book for him? Well I know of a book that isn't actually a book, but is made to look like one and upon being opened, launches fake snakes out at you (like an April fool's joke book). In that paragraph Daisuke pondered about how he'd gotten the book, took out the fake snakes and put them in Ken's coffee mug. I can assure you from personal experience... it works pretty well if the coffee mug is the right kind ;)

* * *

Daisuke stared at the shadow showing through the crack under his bedroom door with hesitant eyes, his body sitting crisscross on his bed. He knew who that was pacing outside his door, back and forth, wanting to knock but being too nervous to do it for whatever reason. He'd get so close, too. Ken would make it right up to his door and then he'd just... stand there, doing nothing. The guy really did have a problem with confronting others.

He'd been waiting for quite some time actually, about fifteen minutes or so; much longer than he'd waited the last time this had happened. Truthfully... he didn't know if he was ready to talk to the tyrant yet. He wanted to, no, he _needed_ to, but he was afraid of what they may end up talking about.

For the past three days since the incident in the docking room he'd managed to avoid Ken entirely, just spending his time thinking. And thinking. And thinking. Well, his brain was pretty much mush by now and he was _done_ thinking. Ken made no sense, this spore thingy or whatever it was made no sense, Ken's personality changes made no sense, Wormmon made no sense, his own feelings made no sense... it all just _made no sense_. He wanted to help Ken if he really was being used by something evil, but the betrayal of the Bio Ring was still fresh in his mind and making it hard to act on those feelings.

Daisuke wasn't the kind of person to hold a grudge. No, he was more the type to get really pissed off and then forget about everything by the next morning. Something about this was different though. He felt truly betrayed, not just irritated or really pissed off. This upset lasted in his memory and emotions, and Daisuke knew it was going to take a lot more to heal these wounds. For whatever reason he had really, _really_ started to trust and care for Ken...

The shadow approached again, and as Daisuke predicted, no knock followed. He gave a long, deep sigh and slowly got to his feet. He stood right in front of his door and closed his eyes. He just wished he knew who was out there, exactly. Would he be talking to the nasty evil Kaiser, the Ken that still believed in his Kaiser game but wasn't so terrible to be around, or a more kind and genuine Ken? The fact that Ken, whichever 'Ken' he currently was, was having so much trouble fessing up with whatever it was he wanted to say, didn't make the redhead want to initiate a conversation very much. It would probably turn out to be something quite unpleasant. But... but this really, _really_ did need to happen, the less childish part of himself reasoned... if anything so he could find out if Ken was at least sorry or not.

He placed his hand on the doorknob and, with one final sigh, opened the door. As expected there stood Ken, looking quite startled by the door he'd been pacing in front of suddenly opening on its own.

"Déjà vu, much?" Daisuke tried to joke around with some sarcasm, but the emotion just wasn't there. He couldn't get into it like he normally could. "You know, it's not normal to be afraid of doors."

"I-I..." Ken trailed off, looking pretty embarrassed. "I'm not afraid of doors, I'm just-"

"Afraid of _me_?" Daisuke finished for him, feeling more enthused about that remark than he had with the previous one.

Ken was quiet for a bit, appearing to not understand if the redhead had been implying something or not. After that he composed himself a bit more and seemed as though he was choosing his words very carefully in his mind. His hair wasn't spiked up like normal and was instead lying flat, like it always did in the real world. He didn't even have his Kaiser outfit on, just his school uniform. Maybe this really was just Ken standing in front of him right now, without the spore's influence or... however it worked. He hoped so anyway. It was definitely better than the Ken who had put the Bio Ring on him.

It was then that Daisuke noticed the other boy's condition, who in turn seemed to notice his. Daisuke's right hand was wrapped up in white bandages and padding, while Ken's face was quite bruised on the right side. Memories of their last encounter played through the redhead's mind. While the adrenalin had been there he'd been able to keep punching Ken, but now that he'd been out of the infirmary it was hard to move his hand at all. Gripping anything hurt more than he could bear, but he could at least move and flex his fingers now without cringing. He'd been told by the Kiwimon nurse to keep it on ice for twenty minutes, off the ice for twenty minutes, and repeat this throughout the day. It was getting better but was far from healed. The same appeared true with the bruises on Ken's head.

The tyrant opened his mouth to speak but then his eyes traveled past Daisuke and into the bedroom. "Uh..." Ken trailed off, appearing to have seen...

Daisuke turned around and looked over at the many balloons in his bedroom. "Oh, I uh... did that."

"Why?" Ken asked simply.

"Well... it's just..." Daisuke fiddled with his fingers, feeling quite awkward. "It's my birthday tomorrow."

The hallway became silent and Daisuke felt an awkwardness creep up the back of his neck. It's not like he'd expected Ken to know that, so he wasn't sure why it felt so awkward between them now.

"R-Really?" Ken seemed quite surprised after a few moments, but also sad for some reason.

"Yep, the big 18." Daisuke gave a weak grin, deep down pretty depressed to be spending such an important day in a place like this. But he'd chosen this, so he wasn't going to complain out loud. "I just have this little tradition on my birthday where I decorate everything with balloons and watch 'Monty Python' with my sister while we eat German Chocolate Cake. Not that I can do that this year, but... you get the idea."

"Oh..." Ken was really acting strangely. Why did he seem so down? "So uh, where'd you get all the balloons from?"

"That bookshelf you gave me." Daisuke pointed across the room at it. "You said I could tell it a title and author and it would give me that book. Well I knew this book that had balloons included inside. Some shitty children's story called Bella's Birthday Bonanza. It only came with five balloons though, so I just asked for ten copies of it."

Ken laughed, and while it was fairly half-hearted, it did still hold some genuine emotion. "Is that how you got those fake snakes that one time, when you put them in my coffee mug?"

"Haha, yeah!" Daisuke laughed as well when he remembered that. Their laughter quieted down and then another silence formed between them, this time even more awkward. The two of them looked down at their feet, messed with their finger nails, tapped their feet... whatever they could to take some attention off of the strain between them.

"So... what did you want to tell me?" Daisuke sighed, deciding to just get to the point finally.

"Right." Ken cleared his throat and appeared to get more serious. "I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow morning I'll be releasing you at the border of one of my controlled areas. You can pack up whatever you wish to take with you and one of my guards will escort you to the docking room. No slaves will attack you as you leave, you'll be permitted to reach one of your teleporting TV things safely. I uh... I didn't know it was your birthday tomorrow but I guess this works out really well."

Daisuke felt his body freeze up and he knew it showed on his face that he wasn't very happy. What the hell? Why was it that when he wanted to leave he couldn't, and then right when he decided to stay everyone was trying to kick him out?! "Why are you letting me go?" Daisuke asked more angrily than he'd intended to.

"I..." Ken seemed pretty confused about the reaction he'd just gotten. "I brought you here to be the test subject for the Bio Ring, which I've abandoned and am starting an entirely different project now. You have no purpose here anymore, so I may as well let you go. I... I thought this would make you happy..."

"Make me happy?" Daisuke snapped, not willing to keep his thoughts inside anymore. "After you brain fucked me and used me to hurt my friends, you expect me to let you just release me without even an apology first?! I've been waiting for three days for you to say sorry or at least say _something_, and when you finally confront me it's to get rid of me like a coward instead of confronting what happened?!"

Ken's face had fallen and his hair now covered most of his face. "Motomiya... I _am_ sorry." His voice was quiet, but Daisuke could tell it was also honest. "I just didn't think you wanted to hear it. They say actions speak louder than words so... I thought this would mean a lot more to you. There's no reason for you to trust or believe me, especially now, so why even try giving you cheap words?"

Daisuke calmed down and took a deep breath, looking down at the floor. He supposed he could accept that answer. It... made sense. It was the first thing to make any fucking sense in the last three days. "Alright." He answered simply, making sure to keep all traces of hostility out of his voice this time. "But... I'm not leaving so you'll have to replay me some other way."

"W-What?" Ken looked back up at him finally. "You... what?"

"I'm staying here."

Ken was silent, blinking repeatedly. "I..." His voice was quite lacking of confidence. "I don't... understand... you _want_ to stay here?"

"No." Daisuke sighed. "I don't _want_ to stay here, but I need to. Why that is, is my own business and not yours." While it honestly _was _Ken's business, he had been very directly ordered by Wormmon not to tell Ken about the spore _no matter what_.

"B-But...!" Ken seemed to be getting frustrated now. "But your parents, and your friends! You can go back to them and be with them, and fight with V-Mon again and... and I'm giving that to you _willingly_! Why the hell would you want to stay here?!" His voice almost sounded frantic.

"There's..." Daisuke trailed off, being very careful of how he worded this. "There's something I need to find out before I can leave. Once I know, then I can go home."

"What do you need to know?"

"I can't tell you, and if you really want to repay me for the Bio Ring then you won't keep asking about it."

There was a stiff silence between them which Daisuke knew was from him bringing up the ring again. It was the only thing that he'd ever seen Ken regret doing no matter what mood he was in, and he didn't want to use it against him anymore. In this case, however, he simply had to.

The tyrant gave a long, drawn out sigh and pulled some pills out of his pocket and a small vial of water. He quickly put them in his mouth and drank the water, rubbing his head afterward. Headache medicine maybe? It wouldn't be surprising, considering how many times he'd punched him there. But really, he carried it and some water around with him? It must be a really frequent thing...

"This is without a doubt the strangest thing you've ever done." Ken continued to rub his head. "But... fine, if it's what you want... then stay. I won't speak to you anymore, you can just be here in your room and... do whatever it is you're needing to do."

"That doesn't work." Daisuke sighed, trying to once again find a way to say this without _saying_ it. "I still have to see you to get my answer before I can leave." How would he ever know if there really was a good Ken deep down beneath the icy exterior that this strange spore thing created if they avoided each other?

"What...?" Ken was pretty confused now, if he could even get any more confused. "This doesn't make any sense at all-"

"I know, _I know_, but... that's just how it is." Daisuke's voice was firm. He wasn't backing down from this. "Just let me go where I want for now, and let me see you when I ask to."

"I just don't know how much more of you I can handle!" Ken admitted, and Daisuke almost laughed hearing it. "You drive me insane. I thought having you leave would be best for both of us because-"

"Well it's not." Daisuke cut him off before he said more. "It's not what I want, I already said what I want, so if you want to make up for the Bio Ring then just accept it. Nothing else will make me happy."

Ken stiffened for a moment, once again from the Bio Ring reference. A few moments later though, he gave a defeated sigh. "Fine... fine, sure, whatever. I just... give up. If you decide to leave though, just... let me know or something." He stopped talking after that, still rubbing his forehead. The hallway was silent and Daisuke was still not sure how he felt. He was happy that Ken agreed to what he wanted, but he was also sad that he was once again refusing to leave when the chance had presented itself to him. Fucking Wormmon... why'd he have to tell him all this crap? It's not like he wished he didn't know about the spore, but having to confront it wasn't easy for him.

"Hey, so..." Daisuke started as a thought occurred to him. "Can I ask you another thing?"

"That... depends..." Ken said slowly, nervously.

"Will you take me somewhere outside the base today? And maybe from time to time afterward? I just... I need to get out of here before I kill myself or something! I think I'm starting to get claustrophobic and that's never happened before. These metal, windowless walls... ugh! I can't fucking stand it!"

"As if asking to stay wasn't surprising enough, now you want me to let you run around outside but still not actually leave." Ken rubbed his head a bit. "Uh... where do you want to go?"

"The beach!" Daisuke felt more emotions bubble out of his chest than he'd experienced for the last three days all put together. Oh god... outside... where there was air and no walls and sky and wind and...!

"If... if that makes you happy... it'll take a little while to get there though, so start getting yourself ready. I'll come back and get you in a couple hours..." Ken shook his head and walked away down the hallway back towards what appeared to be the control room. He was clearly confused but had given up trying to understand at this point.

Daisuke shut his door quietly and then threw himself on the bed happily. Oh god... he didn't even care if things were going to be awkward with Ken there, he was _going outside_!

* * *

The wind was blowing roughly, making it difficult to ride atop the Airdramon. At least it was sunny and there weren't many clouds. The last thing Ken needed right now was rain on top of all this madness. He'd only agreed to it under the condition that the beach they went to was controlled by Ken and heavily guarded, just in case the Chosen were lurking around a corner somewhere.

Watching the way Daisuke shivered with happiness next to him from the fresh air blowing across his skin, and seeing him bounce up and down on his legs with pent up energy, made Ken realize that for the love of god, the guy needed to run around or something. Seriously, he was like a four year old that had been locked in a car for five hours. No wonder this was all he'd wanted. Then again if he'd just left the base he could have done this whenever he desired it... Ken just didn't understand what was going on in the other boy's head at all. What did he need to find out?

At least Daisuke had that passion in his eyes again. Mischief, anger, sarcasm, excitement, joy, determinism... he had such a wide range of emotions, and they were always so _extreme_. He was never just a little mad, he was _fucking pissed_. He didn't just get excited either, oh no, he got _jumping around, cheering and freaking out like a little kid_. And good lord when he wanted payback, he got some _seriously mischievous revenge_. At the same time when he was happy, he was just _so cheerful _that he could somehow make Ken laugh or blush, even if he tried his very best not to. But all of that was what made him Daisuke, and as exhausting as he was at times, Ken had finally realized that he didn't want that to change. He'd rather never see him again and know that he was being himself somewhere else than watch him act the way he had under the Bio Ring's influence. Except now he just wouldn't leave for some reason...

The tyrant watched with amusement as Daisuke leapt from atop the Airdramon as they were landing, stumbling over his feet and nearly falling into the sand. This was undoubtedly the happiest he'd ever seen him.

Ken thought it was all quite interesting to watch though, as he made his way over to the redhead. Soon enough he was standing next to him, staring out at the Digital Ocean. At least the weather was warm without being too hot, and there was a nice cool breeze coming in from the water. It felt really nice, which surprised Ken. He remembered hating the beach quite strongly. He'd never had a good time in places like this. On top of that he'd always got this unsettling feeling around oceans specifically. He wasn't afraid of water and he could swim well. Pools and lakes had always been fine with him, but the ocean... for some reason it really creeped him out, _especially_ at night.

"I don't get it, Ken." Daisuke finally spoke, his eyes scanning the view slowly. "How can you prefer a metal cage over something like this?"

What a strange question that was, but the boy was full of strange, offsetting questions and remarks. Now that he thought about it, he honestly wasn't sure why he preferred the base. He _did_ prefer it, didn't he? He'd always told himself that he did, and so far he always truly had. However, looking at it all right now... he didn't know what he was feeling. All he really knew was that he didn't feel a strong desire to return to the base, and he'd never felt that way before. Unless he was in a battle, he'd always prefer being surrounded by those metal walls and his computer screens.

Ken realized that Daisuke was looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

"I don't know how to answer that." Ken finally said, frowning. "I've never been to a place like this and cared about the scenery, it's all just digital data taking on a physical appearance. The wind is just data, the warmth of the sun is just data, even the water is data... none of its real, so I've never cared."

Daisuke's face had slowly fallen as Ken spoke, and was now appearing to be quite disappointed. Well what kind of answer had he expected from him? He was just being honest. Well... no... if he was to be _truly_ honest...

"But..." Ken spoke up again, staring back out at the distance. "For some reason right now I think I appreciate it more. The wind does feel a bit refreshing, and the sun is nice... the way the water sparkles is pretty neat too I suppose. Huh..." Ken turned his head to the side a bit, trying to get a better view. It... it really was beautiful.

He looked over at the other boy and was met with a soft smile. Apparently he'd said the right thing, or something...

"Ahhh!" Daisuke gave a sudden relived sigh and threw himself down onto the sandy hill they were standing on, looking up at the clouds above. "Lay down Ken!"

He really didn't want to comply with the order, but he'd come all the way out here to make it up to Daisuke, so... with a sigh of his own he slowly sat himself down onto the sand, though he did not lay fully down. He didn't want to get sand all over himself like the redhead apparently did.

Ken looked up at the clouds, which were... nice, he supposed. As nice as clouds could get anyway. He'd never really understood the appeal of staring up at them and finding shapes or whatever it was that people did. He had never done such a thing himself, with the possible exception of back when he was three years old or something. In any case, as an 18 year old senior in High School now, this was certainly nothing he'd find himself interested in-

"Hey, look at that one!" Daisuke suddenly pointed up at the sky. Ken followed the direction of his finger, and found what he assumed was the cloud that he was being directed towards. "It looks like Wormmon's face doesn't it?"

Ken squinted and really tried to look at it. There were some... shapes and... stuff. Uh... "I really don't..." He began to say, but trailed off as he found what had to be the Digimon's head. Oh hey and there were his little antennas. And that was-

Ken snorted and burst into laughter, realizing the expression on the Cloud-Wormmon's face.

"Uh..." Daisuke trailed off, his eyes widening. "I mean it's kind of funny I guess, but..."

"No, no..." Ken wiped a tear from his eye, pointing up at the cloud himself this time. "Just look at his eyes, it's that _'Oh-Ken-chan-you're-not-being-healthy-again'_ face! The one he gets right before he lectures you!" He just couldn't hold it back, and the laughter doubled until he was holding his face with his hands, his shoulders shivering with giggles. One of those horrible headaches was starting to come on though, so he tried to suppress it as best he could.

"Haha, that was a great mocking voice!" Daisuke suddenly started laughing as well. "You sounded just like him."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Ken chuckled as his laughter died down a bit, his hands falling back down into his lap. "It's just _Ken-chan do this_ and _Ken-chan do that_, over and over again, all damned day long I tell you... how could I _not_ know what his voice sounds like? I'm telling you Motomiya, he's-"

"Daisuke." The redhead cut him off immediately. "Don't call me Motomiya."

Ken blinked a bit. "But... why?" Ken decided he was willing to fight the point this time. "Why put us on a personal, friendly level like that when we're enemies, and after everything that's-"

"~Lalala, I can't hear you!~" Daisuke sang as he put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes. "~Blah blah blah, don't care, don't care!~"

"Are you seriously doing that? You're like a fucking preschooler or something-"

"~Still can't hear you, still can't hear you!~" Daisuke shook his head from side to side, dancing in the sand along to his own made up song. Then he took a deep breath, and Ken knew he was going to hate whatever was about to come. "I juuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUst don't caaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAre how much you biiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Itch about calling me by my naaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAME!~"

"Oh dear lord shut UP!" Ken covered his own ears and hollered.

"~OOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooo oooooooo YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-~"

"DAISUKE! DAISUKE! DAISUKE!" Ken closed his eyes and yelled as loud as he possibly could, his headache having doubled now. "THERE I FUCKING SAID IT NOW SHUT UP!"

"Okay." Daisuke turned and smiled, then looked back up at the sky. "Oh hey look at that cloud! Totally a hamburger on a plate."

"Are you mentally retarded?" Ken glared up at the sky, still rubbing his forehead. "I'm not joking, do you have a serious case of ADHD or something? You really should consider getting checked out for it, because..." Ken found himself trailing off as his eyes focused more on the cloud above them. "Wow... that... that really does look like a hamburger on a plate..."

"I _know_ right?!" Daisuke exclaimed and looked over at Ken, a smirk slowly forming on his lips. Ken sighed, but a grin did cross his face nonetheless. He looked back up at the clouds after that, not wanting one of those awkward staring moments to happen again.

A fairly pleasant silence passed between them, Daisuke just smiling up at the sky. Most people would appreciate getting out of an enclosed base he supposed, but there was something about the way the other boy acted that reminded Ken of caging a bird inside of a mechanical box. It just... wasn't meant to be that way. Hence why he'd tried to let him go, but no, he just had to be fucking weird about everything! He was probably just trying to make Ken suffer more before he left or something, as payment for the Bio Ring. It would make sense...

"So... Ken." Daisuke suddenly piped up, startling Ken from his private thoughts of guilt. The redhead sat up and brushed off the back of his shirt, looking Ken straight in the eyes. "I've been meaning to ask you something but I never think of it when I have the chance, or when you're in a good enough mood to bother."

The tyrant raised an eyebrow a bit in question. "Uh... and what is that?"

"Well, aside from all the whole Kaiser business, what kinda stuff do you like?"

The tyrant frowned in thought. That was a question that no one had ever asked him before, so he didn't have an immediate answer for it. No one cared what he was 'interested in', or what other hobbies he possessed. Even his own parents didn't care what he liked to do, since all they were interested in was how much fame they could suck out of him on a daily basis, like the mosquitoes they were. Well there had been one person who cared, but he wasn't around anymore...

"I... uh... I dunno." Ken answered with a strangely stupid tone of voice. Or at least, he thought it sounded pretty damned stupid. "I mean, I don't do much else so... there really isn't anything."

"Oh come on!" Daisuke groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine then, what did you do in your free time before you found out about the Digital World, then?"

A silence fell between them that grew more and more awkward as the time passed. Ken tried to think of something he used to do, even as a small child, but nothing came to his mind. Of course he'd had previous hobbies, but none of them were ones he really did for himself. Judo, soccer, chess... all of it was just for his parent's image but deep down he hadn't enjoyed any of it. Well soccer he'd liked a bit he supposed, but it was more because of the position of power it gave him and not really the activity itself. Prior to doing all of those things for his mom and dad he'd... he'd done... something.

Why couldn't he remember anything before Osamu's death? He could recall spending time with his brother, but even those memories were fuzzy at best. There were the times he blew bubbles with Osamu, but that wasn't a hobby or interest of his. That was just something special they did together. He wouldn't do that anymore.

Speaking of coming to the Digital World, when had he first come here again? It was... when he... well... when had it been? How old was he when he first came here, and how did he meet Wormmon? When did he decide to become the Kaiser, and how did he even build his base in the first place? Had he found it or had he actually spent the time and energy to make it himself? He couldn't recall building it, it had just been there. _He_ had just been there. Everything had just... _been there_. It was as though his memories began once he first became the Kaiser and everything prior to that had been erased, save for the few exceptions with Osamu.

And actually, his memories after Osamu's death were fuzzy too. He knew that he'd tried to get by and figure his life out or something after that... but... how had that all lead to becoming the Kaiser?

"Helloooooo?"

A hand waving in front of his face snapped Ken out of his thoughts.

"You okay?" Daisuke frowned and tilted his head to the side a bit.

"I uh..." Ken blinked repeatedly, suddenly aware of his surroundings. "S-Sorry, I just can't remember anything."

"Nothing...?" Daisuke leaned back onto his forearms and frowned. "Like, _nothing_? How did you come to the Digital World? What did you used to play with as a kid? What kind of stuff makes you happy?"

"I..." Ken looked down at his hands, eyes narrowing in thought. "No, nothing. I don't remember how or when I came here, I don't know what I used to do, and I really don't know what makes me happy other than being the Kaiser. I remember my brother's death and then my parents pressuring me into being famous, and then... this."

It was strange that he could bring up Osamu so easily, because normally just hearing his name or thinking about him overwhelmed Ken with emotions. It was also strange that there was a part of him questioning whether or not being the Kaiser actually made him happy anymore.

"That..." Daisuke's face became filled with genuine sadness. "I'm sorry Ken."

"Why?" Ken asked, genuinely not understanding.

"You..." Daisuke trailed off, appearing to be looking for the right words. "You don't remember anything happy, do you? It's just all the negative stuff or nothing at all. That's really all you're allowed to remember..."

"Allowed...?" Ken frowned, even more confused than before.

"I-I mean...!" Daisuke suddenly went wide eyed and coughed, blushing a bit. "N-Nothing, forget I said anything. Just that ADHD kicking in again, haha."

Before Ken could say anything in response to the suspiciously forced grin on Daisuke's face, the boy had jumped up and was running towards the water. Ken stared after him as he got up on his feet, brushing the sand off his body. After that he headed slowly towards the water where the redhead appeared to be digging for sea shells or something.

Without meaning to, Ken kept on thinking about the question he'd been asked, about what he used to do before becoming the Kaiser. It bothered him that he couldn't remember something so simple, and there was no logical reason for him not to know. It was as though the memories had all been erased or something. Had he hit his head and damaged his memory at some point, perhaps?

"Hey look at this!" Daisuke stood as Ken reached him and held out his hands, covered in muddy sand and holding a very large, flawless sea shell. "Digital or not, it's still really cool looking, right?"

"I suppose." Ken said genuinely. It wasn't as if it was some magnificent piece of art or something, but for a randomly dug up sea shell it was in surprisingly good condition. It also had a nice arrangement of colors. Ken found himself staring at it, memories of an ocean at the tip of his memory. It was dark... and there were shells scattered about. He had... something in his hand-

"You thinking about something?" Daisuke asked suddenly, startling Ken from his thoughts.

"I just..." Ken tried to think of something else he could reply with other than what he'd really been thinking about. "I guess I just thought of something I used to enjoy."

"Oh?" This really seemed to perk the other boy up. "What did you remember?"

"I would blow bubbles with my brother sometimes." Ken picked up the shell from Daisuke's hands and looked at it as he spoke. "He made the soapy water and cut the straws, but only I was able to blow the actual bubbles. He just blew into the straw so _hard_." Ken laughed a bit, unable to suppress the smile quickly spreading across his face. "I mean, what did he expect? Of course the damned bubbles were going to pop! Anyway... it's all stupid."

"That's not stupid at all!" Daisuke's voice was suddenly angry for some reason. "Don't say it's stupid so easily like that. I think it's really cool that you did that with your brother as a kid, so... so don't ever forget about it, okay?"

"Uh..." Everything about this conversation was strange and confusing. It really seemed as though there was something that Daisuke wasn't telling him, but he had no idea what it could be. He also knew that pestering the boy about it wouldn't accomplish anything if he'd decided to be stubborn. That was pretty much one of the redhead's defining traits, after all; stubbornness.

"Sure..." Ken finally said slowly, looking back down at the shell.

"You can keep it if you want." Daisuke smiled softly, and Ken found himself smiling a bit too. There was something about the gesture, the way Daisuke used his injured hand to lift up Ken's palm and place the shell into it with his uninjured fingers, that Ken couldn't deny... was sweet. The shell was just made of data, and on top of that it was all dirty and possibly even had a dead snail inside of it or something... and yet he found himself leaning down and letting the ocean water wash it off, and then placing it gently inside his pocket.

Suddenly an image flashed through his mind, one of him holding something firmly in that same hand and letting it lower down into the ocean water. It twisted and contorted, until it was black-

"Haha, come on Ken!" Daisuke suddenly laughed and grabbed his wrist with his good hand, pulling him into the water and shattering the memory before it could grow further. Ken felt himself tense up and he tried to pull away, but the other boy was much faster than he'd been expecting, and before he had much of a chance to escape, it was too late.

The ocean water was freezing cold and sent chills up his spine. He hadn't intended to get wet so it wasn't like he was wearing the right clothing for this. His simple school uniform pants were now drenched around the ankles and the water was soaking upward.

"D-Damn it Daisuke!" Ken swore as another wave of chills was sent through his system, a wave of ocean water hitting his knees this time. "I didn't want to get wet!"

"Yeah well, you're my bitch right now." Daisuke turned around and smirked, still holding onto his wrist. He tugged harder and Ken didn't put up a fight anymore, having been reminded of why he was here. Not that he was in fact Motomiya's _bitch_, as the redhead had so _kindly_ put it. However, he was here to make up for something, and he really shouldn't be whining about getting a little wet. And cold. And soggy. And smelly. And now his pants were probably stained for good. Damn it.

Ken felt a sudden shiver run up his spine, but it wasn't from the cold water. This ocean was awful and he needed to get away from it. He just hated places like this. Why had he agreed to come here? He should have insisted they go somewhere else. The waves seemed to crawl closer and closer to him, threatening to pull him down underneath and...

Ken quickly moved himself away from the crashing water so that he wouldn't be totally drenched in it, but close enough to still see Daisuke. He seemed fine with just messing around in the water by himself while Ken sat off alone anyway.

Ken shivered again. Something wasn't right... he'd just remembered something about an ocean. He'd been alone and put something in the water, but what was it? Whatever it was had turned black. Why couldn't he remember anything? This happened so much...

Maybe he should ask Wormmon about it. He probably wouldn't know anything but he supposed it couldn't hurt to try. It was better than sitting here wondering forever and possibly never even remembering. Maybe if he just focused on one thing at a time he could eventually piece it all together. He could first try to just remember what was in his hand, or at least what it looked like...

"You okay?" Daisuke's voice snapped Ken out of his thoughts and he realized that it was already starting to get late. They'd gotten here later in the day he supposed, but just how long had he been sitting here thinking about this strange memory anyway? "You know, I..." Daisuke trailed off. "Never mind."

"What?" Ken asked as he looked up at the boy standing over him, confused by the other boy's tone of voice. He'd sounded serious, like he had something important to say. "What is it?"

"You probably won't care..." Daisuke's voice was actually a bit sad, and it made Ken feel guilty because he knew it was his own fault that the other boy thought he wouldn't care about anything he had to say. In truth he hadn't cared about him before, Daisuke was just an irritating prisoner... but right now he didn't feel that way.

"Since when are you too shy to say something?" Ken realized and found himself chuckling a bit. "Did you get hit over the head when I wasn't looking or something?"

"No, no, it's not that, I just..." Daisuke once again started but didn't finish. "I mean..."

"Please tell me." Ken asked with a soft voice, not wanting to make things upsetting between them by getting angry. Daisuke sighed and things became silent again, Ken looking back out into the water. He waited for a while, the other boy tapping his feet in what appeared to be contemplation. There was definitely something on his mind, but Ken really didn't find himself possessing the energy to pry it out of him anymore. He'd either say it or he wouldn't...

"I guess I just wanted to make sure that you were still being you." Daisuke said so quietly that Ken had barely even heard it, sitting down next to him finally.

Ken gave the boy a questioning look, no idea what any of that had meant.

"I just mean that sometimes you get really mad and hate everyone." Daisuke spoke slowly, still very quiet. "But other times you're nicer and we actually get along pretty well. So when I saw you sitting by yourself for so long with such a serious look on your face I got worried that you were going back into that Kaiser mood again."

"Kaiser mood?" Ken almost laughed at the way Daisuke spoke. Was he implying that he had different personalities or something? "I'm always the Kaiser."

"Yeah but..." Daisuke frowned and then sighed. "You're not always _like_ that, sometimes... I mean... just, never mind. I can't explain it."

Ken didn't reply and continued to stare out at the ocean. That... ugly, creepy mess of water that crashed in the shore and just... it... it was... ugh.

"You know what I _really_ want Ken?" Daisuke looked straight into Ken's eyes finally and Ken found himself willing to look back, wanting to get his attention off of that horrible ocean. "I just want you to forget all of this crap and be yourself all the time. Just be happy and be _you_, and when you're feeling really mad and want to hurt others, just fight it okay? Can you do that for me?"

Tears tugged at Ken's eyes, but he didn't let them fall. What the hell was he getting emotional for? He had no idea what was going on anymore. He used to know, but now everything had become just a big jumble of confusion and chaos. Especially with his emotions... dear god it was like being on a hormonal roller coaster or something, and he'd already dealt with puberty!

It was true though... sometimes he was calmer than other times. When he was more relaxed and not trying to punish someone, things could be pretty enjoyable with Daisuke. Without all of the Kaiser/Chosen stuff between them... it was... nice.

"Ken?"

The tyrant shook his head to keep his composure. "I don't know what I want, and that's the complete truth of it."

"Well then just start over!" Daisuke was suddenly filled with excitement as he grabbed Ken's hands with his own. Except for his injured hand, which just kind of gently wrapped around the other boy's and lifted it up. "Just screw all the Kaiser stuff, let the slaves go, and then go back to the real world and do what _you_ want to do! Just be happy, and maybe we... maybe we could even be friends even. I know the others will come around, they just need some time for me to explain everything and-"

"That's impossible." Ken's voice was suddenly forceful, and his face stern. "My parents will never let me be who I want to be, and even if the Chosen forgave me, it's too late for that anyway. I've done too much to ever be your friend or theirs. I know you don't really want to be friends with me anyway."

"Damn it Ken!" Daisuke was pretty pissed off as he gripped his hands tighter. "Why are you doing this? Why won't you even try and see that this can be worked out? You just keep deciding that it's too late or that no one likes you and blah, blah, blah... don't decide that for yourself! Let _them_ decide; let _me_ decide! I want to be your friend and you saying that I don't doesn't change the fact that I actually do! Don't listen to those stupid voices in your head."

"Ugh, WHY?!" Ken felt his arms start shaking.

"Because this isn't your fault and I'm not going to let it ruin your life!"

"What is, 'it'? What do you know about me that I don't know?!"

Daisuke became silent and his face filled with fear. He looked away and back towards the ocean, his gaze distracted and clearly filled with thoughts.

"If you won't tell me whatever it is that you know, then I won't accept any of these ideas you have." Ken said firmly, also staring out into the water. It was dark now and the way the ocean waves glistened in the moonlight was terrible. He didn't like it at all. He felt shivers run up his arms and Goosebumps form on his skin. He was cold... this place... it was just...

"Let's go." Ken said, his voice coming out shakier than he'd intended as all of his previous frustration left his mind. He hadn't intended to stay here long enough for it to get dark. Damn himself for not paying well enough attention...

"What?" Daisuke looked over at him and asked. "Why should... we...?" He seemed to have been asking something more, but trailed off and gave him a strange look. "Ken?"

_Ken stared at the dark ocean water, the hair on the back of his neck on edge with nerves. There was a strong wind whipping his hair from side to side, and he had massive Goosebumps all over his skin. This place... it felt wrong somehow, as though the very air that he was breathing had an evil nature to it. Everything was a shade of gray; the water, sand, clouds, plants... even himself. His hair didn't have its dark blue hue anymore and his skin wasn't tan, both appearing completely washed out. What kind of a place was this? Why was he here?_

_"Where am I...?" Ken trailed off quietly to himself, almost speaking in a whisper. As if in answer to his question, something pulled at his mind and demanded that he get closer to the water. A voice in the back of his mind resisted, ordering him not to listen. But it was so quiet in comparison to the desire to get closer... just a bit closer..._

_His feet moved on their own, and before he knew it he could feel the icy cold liquid seeping through his shoes and the bottoms of his pants. His arm moved down towards the water, and Ken watched as the strange device in his hands changed shape. It had once been white, but was now pitch black and much larger. He pulled it out of the water and looked at it, still leaned over._

_"That's right, this..." He pulled it in closer and clutched it with two hands, refusing to let it go. "This is my Digivice. Not anyone else's..." A smirk formed on his face as thoughts of Osamu came to his mind. That fool, he had slapped him claiming that this was his. No... that insect was wrong... "It's just mine."_

"KEN!"

His body was shook roughly, the grip on his hair loosening. He opened his eyes and was confused to see Daisuke's face, the boy holding his shoulders tightly. The redhead looked startled for some reason. Ken's own hands were in his hair, gripping hard and hurting his scalp... what the hell?

"I-I..." Ken trailed off and let go of his hair, blinking repeatedly. Were those tears on his cheeks? "What?"

"... _'What?'_ That's all you have to say?!" Daisuke's voice was filled with frustration and worry, though he still did not let go of Ken's shoulders. In fact, his injured hand was gripping him just as tightly as his other one, which was surely hurting the redhead a lot... "After shrieking for help and pulling your hair like you're in pain, you ask me _'what'_?"

Ken had no idea what was going on or what to say. "I... I saw..." he started but stopped, not sure _what_ he had just seen. The memories were starting to fade away now too... "There was an ocean and it was dark... it wasn't this one... I had some old looking Digivice I think, and then it became bigger and black... I... I don't remember now." He was looking down at his feet, eyebrows furrowed from his attempt to remember more.

"An old Digivice?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow, his voice much softer now. "Did you have an older one once? When did that happen?"

Ken thought hard, trying to bring the images back. However the more he thought of it the less he could see, until the whole memory was gone entirely. "Ugh!" Ken slammed his fists down onto the sand. "I can't see any of it now!"

"Hey..." Daisuke trailed off and stood up, offering his good hand to Ken. "Wanna go back?"

Ken looked at the offered hand for a bit, not sure why the other boy had changed his mind so suddenly. Wouldn't this be the time when Daisuke would pester relentlessly until he got an answer or was yelled at? Regardless, Ken took the offered hand and was pulled to his feet. Going back was probably best right now... this ocean wasn't helping him feel any better that's for sure.

As the two of them flew back towards the base on the top of his Airdramon, Ken made a silent decision. If Daisuke knew something about his condition that Ken didn't, and he wasn't going to say anything, then he'd just have to figure it out on his own. There was a pain in the back of his neck for a moment and a little voice in his head telling him he didn't want to find the answer, but Ken ignored it. It didn't matter what happened, he needed to know what the hell was going on.


	14. Shadows in the Water

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 14: Shadows in the Water

Author's Note: I can't believe how easily this chapter came out. I've spent months on a single chapter before, but this all flowed together in just a few days. Maybe not being able to write for months built up a ton of excess inspiration or something. Anyway I'm happy with it, so I really hope you guys are too =) Also for future reference; Tamagoyaki is rolled up egg, Nori is dried seaweed and tsukemono are like pickles. Thanks to Ine-Capa and DigiGirl101 for your help!

* * *

Daisuke yawned and stretched in his bed, untangling the blanket from his legs and pulling it up to his neck. Ah... cozy. This bed was so much more comfortable than his own at home. He wasn't tired anymore though, he was just being lazy. And why shouldn't he be? He had nothing to do that mattered, and he'd stayed up late playing video games so he was all about sleeping in this morning.

Eyes glancing over to the opposite wall he came to realize that it was around 11:20 in the morning. Oh yeah, _way_ too early to get up. Seriously, who got up before noon on their 18th birthday? No one sane, that's for sure.

With a smile on his face he nuzzled back into the blankets and felt his body heat surround him. However, a minute or two later he felt his nostrils become filled with an incredible smell, and his thoughts of laziness started to sway. He opened his eyes and looked around, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Daisuke turned onto his back and lifted himself up onto his forearms, looking fully around the room. It only took him a few seconds to find what smelled so delicious. On the bedside table behind where his back had been were two large trays with dome lids to keep heat inside. In front of those two trays was a blue and red wrapped box.

The redhead pried himself out of bed and stood in front of the bedside table, not sure what to think. He slowly reached for the tray on the left and grasped the dome lid, lifting it up. Steam billowed out in a cloud, and the aroma was quite delicious. Daisuke's eyes widened when he saw the food on the tray; a bowl of steamed rice, another bowl with miso soup, and a plate with tamagoyaki, nori, broiled fish and tsukemono; a traditional Japanese breakfast.

Daisuke put the lid back over the food to keep it warm and then lifted up the lid on the second tray. Underneath was... holy shit... was that a whole German chocolate cake?! It was! And while it wasn't all that big, it was certainly larger than he could eat on his own. There was another, smaller plate nearby with nothing but silverware on it; clearly to put a slice onto.

The wrapped present was starting to look extremely inviting now, so Daisuke put the lid back on the second tray and picked it up. It wasn't heavy but it definitely had something inside. And now that he'd picked it up he noticed the folded up note underneath...

Placing the present back on the table and picking up the letter instead, the tanned boy opened it and read silently to himself.

_"Daisuke,_

_Regardless of what you said, I'm still sorry that you're spending your birthday here. Not that I did anything particularly amazing on my own 18th birthday, but you aren't me. I know deep down you'd love to have a huge party with your friends and family or something, so I did the best I could do to at least make it noticeably different from the normal day to day life here. Let me know if there's somewhere you'd like to go within the Digital World. Except the ocean that is, for personal reasons. I still wish you'd just leave and go home, and my offer to release you still stands. However, on the likely chance that you're still being stubborn about it, I did the best I could._

_I made the food myself, as well as the cake. I hope they turned out alright... if not let me know, I can try to get something for you from outside the base. I know how awful the generator food is, believe me. I'm sure you'll like the gift I made for you at the very least._

_Anyway... happy birthday Daisuke._

_-Ken"_

Daisuke felt a soft smile spread across his face as he folded the letter back up and set it down on the bedside table. Wow, he really made all of this himself? He must have stayed up all night... and apparently he also made the gift that was inside the box? What could it be?

His fingers grasped the bow that wrapped around the square box and pulled, untying it with ease. He realized then that it was one of those printed boxes made to look like it was gift wrapped, but really all you had to do was pull off the lid. So he did, and when he saw what was inside, he felt his eyes widen and his breath catch in his throat.

In front of him lay his goggles, the lenses no longer broken, the paint un-chipped, the elastic band replaced and the dents removed. They actually looked brand new! Lying underneath the goggles was a DVD that he immediately recognized as Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Daisuke quickly opened the drawer where he'd been putting his broken goggles and sure enough, it was now empty. Ken must have grabbed them while he was sleeping and taken them somewhere to be fixed... and he must have remembered the little birthday tradition story he'd told him the previous day and... and...

The redhead felt tears tug at his eyes and he couldn't get rid of the smile on his face. He pulled the goggles out of the box and strapped them around his head. They fit perfectly, just like they had before they'd been broken. Walking over to the mirror and looking at himself revealed exactly what he'd hoped to see. The new band was even the exact same color and type of elastic!

Daisuke really didn't know what to do at that moment. He should probably eat but... but he really, really, _really_ wanted to go say something to Ken. There actually was a good person in there, wasn't there? He'd always felt that there had to be, but after the Bio Ring he wasn't sure.

The redhead put the movie back inside the gift box and left his bedroom, heading for the control room where he figured the other boy would be.

* * *

Ken waited patiently for his computer to finish scanning the data sent from the infirmary, not really having much else to do that would make him feel rushed. After making the decision to find out whatever it was Daisuke knew about him, he'd begun an extensive search. He'd already done a full scan of the base for anything out of place, as well as sifted through the security footage since Daisuke first entered the base. After that he'd had himself fully X-Rayed and physically examined in the infirmary, and the results from it were currently being sent to his control room.

As strange as it was, he'd found himself laughing at quite a bit of the torment Daisuke had been putting him through. Somehow it didn't piss him off seeing it again as he'd expected, but just made him shake his head and laugh. That is, except for the parts where he and Daisuke had... well... uh... made out or whatever the hell it was that had happened those couple of times. He wasn't about to admit it to the boy, but Daisuke's claims of Ken 'obviously enjoying it' seemed a lot more legitimate watching them from the viewpoint of his security cameras-

Anyway! So far he'd pretty much found nothing that hinted at what it might be. It was frustrating and unless these X-Rays indicated something, he was probably just going to have to try and get through the boy's stubbornness. If that was even _possible_.

The computer beeped and various information was displayed on the right side of the screen, the left containing an image of the full body X-Rays. He figured he'd start examining this by-

_Drip._

Ken sat up straight and looked around the room. Was that... water? Was there a leak in the room or something? Considering just how much armor he'd surrounded the base with he seriously doubted that, but he supposed it wasn't physically impossible. It was more likely that the sprinklers were malfunctioning.

_Drip, drip_.

With a sigh, the dark haired boy opened a drawer nearby and pulled out a small flashlight. Sure, he could walk over to the control room's main doors and flip on the lights, but this was faster and easier. He shone the beam of light over to the back corner of the room where the sound was coming from. Sure enough, there was a small puddle of water on the floor.

Releasing a now irritated sigh, Ken stood up and began walking over to the puddle to inspect it. Except that each step he took sounded as though he was walking through water. He shone the light down to his legs, but was met with a completely dry floor.

Ken moved his right leg a bit, confused to hear no splashing sounds around his ankles now. Even stranger was the fact that now, after shining the light back over to the corner of the room, there was no puddle on the ground.

_'What the hell?'_ Ken thought to himself, feeling goose bumps rise on his arms. Why was he getting nervous? He was probably just sleep deprived to the point of seeing and hearing things now, which wouldn't surprise him at all. Seriously, it wasn't like his control room was haunted by an evil _puddle spirit_ or something.

A chuckle escaped Ken's lips at the thought of something so ridiculous and stupid, but his breath immediately caught in his throat when he heard another chuckle echo around the room, this one not coming from him.

"Who's there?" Ken demanded, feeling his body tense up and his blood run cold. He didn't like admitting it, but he was getting really nervous now. Something was in there with him... he had to turn on the lights. _Now_.

Ken walked quickly, partially from fear, towards the doors where the light switch was. However, once he'd gotten about halfway there he froze up entirely, eyes widening. He'd barely seen it, but something had run through the ray of light, going from the blackness to Ken's right across to the left and out of sight. He couldn't get himself to move any further as the evil sounding laughter started up again, this time much closer than before-

"Ken!" Daisuke's voice cut through the room as the doors to the control room burst open, light flooding inside. Ken suddenly found himself lying on the floor, even though he'd been standing just moments ago. He sat up with a start and shivered with a cold sweat. His eyes darted around the room, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. How had he gotten on the floor, and where was the flashlight?! It wasn't in his hand or anywhere near him, it was just gone.

"Ken?" Daisuke's voice had lowered in volume quite a bit, the boy appearing to be making an effort of quieting down after seeing Ken startle so badly. "Why are you lying on the floor? Did you fall asleep or something?"

"I..." Ken felt his heart rate start to slow down, though it was far from normal yet. "I guess I did..." Quite frankly he was extremely thankful that it had all just been a dream. Even if he'd have preferred Daisuke's entrance had been done in a quieter fashion, he appreciated being woken up. When had he fallen asleep though? It had all felt so real...

Daisuke walked over and offered a hand, seeming genuinely worried about him. Ken felt himself finally calm down fully. Regardless, that dream had still been really creepy.

"Thanks." Ken accepted the hand and was pulled back up to his feet, brushing himself off. "Anyway, what do you need?"

"You fixed them!" The redhead smiled brightly, seeming to forget all about their previous exchange now. He pointed at his head and walked closer to Ken, stopping right in front of him.

"Huh?" Ken blinked and realized he was referring to his goggles, memories of what he'd been doing late at night before he'd gone to sleep flashing through his mind. "Oh, yeah... I did fix them."

"Thank you so much!" Daisuke hugged the other boy suddenly and Ken nearly stumbled and fell over, not having expected that at all. He stood there for a few moments without moving, completely confused and unsure about what he should do.

"Y-You're welcome..." Ken trailed off awkwardly and hugged him back a bit, though his confusion kept him from doing much more than patting him on the back.

"Seriously, you don't know how much this means to me." Daisuke pulled back and was smiling even brighter than before, happiness radiating from his eyes.

"I think I have a good idea, actually." Ken chuckled softly and shook his head. At least all of his work hadn't been for nothing and the boy had liked it, far more so than he'd expected. He was really happy that he'd done so well with his gift idea. He wanted to do _something_ to make Daisuke's birthday less... well, depressing.

"You must have been up all night Ken..." Daisuke scratched the back of his head.

"Oh it wasn't a big deal." Ken gave a small smile in return. "The paint was already chipped up so I just removed it all and heated up the metal so I could smooth out the dents. Then I repainted it the same color and replaced the lenses. I noticed the elastic band was fraying too so I got a new one for it. That's all."

"Hey that's a lot more than I could have done!" Daisuke laughed. "It probably would have looked like road kill or something if I'd tried to fix it... off-white patches of paint, somehow there'd be _more_ dents, no lenses at all, a duct taped band... you get the picture."

Ken laughed at the image in his head along with the redhead, 'road kill' being quite the appropriate term. Something about Daisuke's happiness and laughter was infectious at that moment, all of his previous concerns now completely gone from his mind. Besides, it was probably just that his exhausted imagination had run away with itself and messed up his dream. He had no reason to freak out.

"And you even made breakfast _and_ a cake?! You totally listened to me the other day didn't you?" Daisuke nudged the other boy's shoulder lightly with his fist, but Ken could tell it was a friendly gesture.

"I did my best." Ken was still smiling when he nudged the boy back in the same way. "I'm glad you like it so much. I was afraid I might have gotten the wrong movie or something."

"Nope, you were spot on."

"That's good."

There was an unusually comfortable silence between them. Normally when they were in the same room together but weren't speaking, it was after some heated argument or something. For once it was on good terms.

Their eyes lingered a bit, not moving away from the other. Ken realized that they were staring and felt a blush creep up his cheeks, immediately averting his gaze away from the redhead. However, the other boy had yet to look elsewhere.

Ken cleared his throat quietly and fiddled with his fingers, looking down at his hands. He looked back up at the other boy after a bit and found that he was still staring into his eyes. However, his expression had changed now. Instead of smiling happily, he was frowning in concentration, as though he was... looking for something?

Did Ken have something on his face maybe? He blinked a few times, not sure what was happening anymore.

"Y-Yes...?" Ken's voice stammered a bit with the question.

"S-Sorry!" Daisuke stammered as well and blushed a bit, stepping back and fiddling with his fingers. Ken could feel himself blushing again now. "I just noticed that your eyes weren't the same color and it threw me off."

"Huh? Really?" Ken frowned a bit and looked over at a blank monitor screen His reflection stared back and he focused on his eyes. Sure enough, they had a more purple color today for some reason. "Hmm... you're right. That's... really weird."

"They suit you better." Daisuke leaned over and looked at his face again, smiling softly. "Normally they're all intense and blue, but now they're softer and kind of purple. It looks really nice on you."

"Ah..." Ken looked away and backed up again, not sure how he was supposed to take all of these compliments... he just wasn't used to it. Granted, he should be considering how many fawning fans he had out there in the real world. Something about this was different though.

"So anyway..." Daisuke trailed off, appearing to feel awkward still. "I wanted to know if you'd like to have breakfast and cake with me in my room? We can watch that movie too, you know, to celebrate my birthday and stuff. And I mean, you seem pretty tense in here... I think it'd be better for you to go somewhere else!"

Ken frowned a bit. Go hang out for his birthday? He'd planned on doing the total opposite of that and instead leaving himself out of the boy's celebration entirely. He figured that would make him the happiest, and yet here he was, asking to hang out... maybe he should just automatically do all the opposite things that he thought Daisuke would want or something. Then again, his idea on a gift had been a really big success, so he supposed he wasn't _always_ wrong. Daisuke was just confusing 99% of the time. That was it.

"It's your birthday so..." Ken spoke slowly. "I'm not going to argue if that's _really_ what you want, but honestly I figured you'd want to be alone."

"Being alone sucks..." Daiuske's crossed his arms and Ken felt multiple pangs of guilt in his chest. The boy really was a socialite, and yet he was confined to a metal cage in lonely base... it was his fault. "Hey!" Daisuke's voice cut off Ken's train of thought. "Don't start that."

"Huh?" Ken frowned a bit.

"Don't get all sad." Daisuke grabbed his wrist firmly. "Or I'll get sad too, and that's just not cool on my birthday! So let's go have food!" With that, the boy began pulling him firmly out of the room and towards his bedroom. Ken chose not to resist and to let his prisoner have what he wanted this time, even if it was completely contrary to what he _should_ want.

* * *

Daisuke felt his stomach rumble loudly upon entering his room, Ken's arm grasped firmly in his hand. Once he shut the door he walked over and opened up the still steamy tray of food, grabbing the pair of chop sticks off to the side. Then he opened the bedside table drawer and pulled out a second pair that he kept there just in case he wanted to be lazy and eat in his room.

"Here ya go!" He handed the chopsticks to Ken. "They're clean."

"Oh... thanks." Ken took them and... just kind of stood there. He sure was acting strange today. Not that it was weird of Ken to have been started by him bursting into a normally dead quiet room. It's just that he'd been on the floor, as though he'd fallen asleep. Maybe he was nodding off in there or something, since he'd most likely stayed up all night working on his gift.

"Ugh, _sit_!" Daisuke rolled his eyes when he realized that Ken was _still_ just standing there, and motioned towards the spot next to him on the bed. Ken slowly did as he was told and let himself sit down, but he was all stiff about it... _God_! "What do you want to eat?" Daisuke asked, trying to help him lighten up or something.

"I don't care."

"Alright." Daisuke laughed and shook his head at the boy's randomly shy behavior. Man, since when was Ken this humble and quiet? Normally he'd be spouting all sorts of dramatic bullshit left and right, and... well, he really wasn't like the Kaiser at all right now.

Daisuke smiled at the thought as he set the entire tray between them on the bed. He crossed his legs and began eating, Ken doing the same, though he was much slower about it. The redhead would probably have to slow down his pace or he'd eat everything before Ken had a chance to really get any food down... gah, freakin' slow eaters!

At least Ken was eating at all though. That was a pretty big improvement from normal. Maybe... maybe Ken had finally overpowered the spore and wouldn't become the Kaiser ever again! If that happened then he wouldn't have to worry about his energy failure possibility and then he could take him back to the real world with him. He didn't want to bring it up right now, but he'd try and convince him soon enough. Right _now_ it was his birthday, and he wasn't going to spend it all by himself.

Sometimes he really regretted making V-Mon leave the base... but he knew deep down that it had been the right thing to do. V-Mon wouldn't have wanted to stay, and he wouldn't have understood why Daisuke did, so he'd done the only thing he could think of. Where was he now, though? What was he doing? Had he found the others and gone back to the real world? He just wished there was a way to know.

"Hey, Ken?" Daisuke asked after he'd swallowed the yummy bite of broiled fish he'd had in his mouth. "Uh... do you know where V-Mon is at?"

"I know Wormmon let him go." Ken replied simply, not appearing upset about it at all. "Well, I guess I don't _know_ that he did, but when I questioned him his antennas started twitching like they do whenever he's nervous about something. He said V-Mon found a way out on his own, but I know that's a bunch of bull. Anyway, V-Mon went into an area that I don't have any cameras for yet so I'm not entirely sure."

"You watched him?" Daisuke was actually a bit surprised by this.

"W-Well you know..." Ken trailed off a bit, seeming awkward for some reason. "I know my slaves would have recognized him so I was checking to see if he got away safely. If not I was going to go check on him. I-I mean... you know... just because..."

"You don't need to justify an act of kindness, Ken." Daisuke rolled his eyes but smiled afterward. "Anyway, thanks for checking on him."

"Yeah..." That blush was back on his cheeks but Daisuke wasn't sure why it was there. Did it really embarrass him so much to be nice? Maybe he just wasn't used to it and it felt weird to him now. Surely he'd been nice before the spore though, as a young kid...

They continued to eat in a comfortable silence. Eventually all of the food was gone, Daisuke having eaten about 2/3rds of it himself. Ken insisted that he had gotten enough to eat though, so Daisuke didn't worry about it too much. He certainly had a thinner body than Daisuke did. Not that he was overweight, but he had muscle whereas Ken didn't really appear to have much of that. He preferred it that way anyway because... he... uh...

Daisuke blinked a bit, confused about that last thought. Why would he have a preference on what Ken's body was like?

"Have you tried your cake yet?" Ken asked suddenly, wiping all the thoughts away from Daiuske's mind.

"Not yet!" The redhead leapt up and set the food tray back down on the bedside table, opening up the tray with the cake. He picked up the single match sitting beside it, as Ken no longer allowed him to have matches or lighters in his room, and struck it. He lit all 18 candles and thought about what he wanted to wish for.

The whole birthday wish thing was a big deal to him. Yeah it was probably all superstition, but he'd been doing it since he was a baby so _whatever_.

_'I wish...'_ He began thinking to himself. _'I wish for uh... I wish that all of the chosen, including Ken, to be back together and helping the Digital World.' _He blew out the candles and thought about his wish. He missed his old friends but he also couldn't bring himself to leave Ken behind. If they could all just be back together, working to save the Digital World as a team. That was the best outcome.

His eyes moved back down to the cake. Ken would have to try some of it to, since he'd spend so much time making it. There was only one plate though... "I'll get us some." Daisuke said and decided they could just share one piece and if they wanted more he'd cut a second one.

"Huh?" Ken asked, confused. "Oh I don't need any, I made it for you to-"

"You're having some." Daisuke glared at the other boy again, not even wanting to hear it. "We'll share a piece."

"Well what am I supposed to eat it with, chopsticks?" Ken laughed a bit and Daisuke could acknowledge the silverware issue. He really didn't want to go to the kitchen and get more... it was his 18th birthday, so he could be lazy if he wanted to.

"Nah, I've got an idea." Daisuke quickly picked up the Monty Python DVD from inside the gift box and put it in the DVD player, turning on the TV. After that he walked over and cut a large piece of cake and plopped it down onto his plate. Grabbing the only fork and knife, he sat down on the bed and leaned his back against the headrest, motioning for Ken to follow. Once the other boy had grudgingly accepted defeat and just sat the hell down next to him on the bed already, the redhead grabbed his remote and started the movie.

He had a feeling that this wouldn't be Ken's kind of humor at all, but even so at least he wouldn't have to be alone on his birthday. That would have made him really sad... and of course, mentioning that while putting on the best puppy eyes he could manage, had been what convinced Ken not to leave.

Yeah, _maybe_ he practiced the eyes on his mom. All the time. Like, anytime he wanted something. They didn't work on her anymore, but Ken hadn't yet built up an immunity!

Daisuke used the fork to cut off a small bite sized piece of cake, offering it to the other boy. "Here Ken." He smiled, earning a strange look from the dark haired boy. "What? Just take a bite of it at least before I use this fork and then you pull the whole, _'eww germs'_ crap on me. I don't care if you've used it, big fucking deal."

Ken sighed and took the fork from him, eating the piece on his own. He chewed for a bit and then swallowed, a surprised expression on his face.

"That was a lot better than I was expecting." Ken mused. "I've never had German chocolate cake so trying to make it was challenging."

Daisuke smiled and tried a piece for himself. Immediately his mouth erupted into a world of bliss. Holy shit, this was some badass cake! Ken was so making this for him on his birthday from now on.

Well... no... they were enemies still... and yet, they also weren't. Ugh, whatever, it was too confusing to worry about right now.

Daisuke cracked up when one of his favorite jokes happened in the movie, Ken smiling a bit but not really laughing. Hey, a smile was more than he'd been expecting! At least he didn't seem to totally hate it and could enjoy something about it.

Ken glanced over at the now half-eaten slice of cake, and right when Daisuke noticed, he looked away. The redhead smiled and used his fork to cut off another bite sized piece, offering the fork to the other boy. "Here, have some more."

Ken looked at it for a bit, as though contemplating the fact that Daisuke had already used it. Then suddenly yet slowly, he opened his mouth and accepted the bite into his mouth. A blush exploded on his face immediately after he'd done it though, Daisuke finding himself blushing as well. It wasn't that it was dirty or something, just... well, maybe a little... okay the implication was there.

The redhead coughed and the two of them made a point of focusing on the movie again after that. Daisuke paid especially close attention, as some of his favorite scenes were coming up. Luckily the awkwardness drained away pretty quickly.

It was amazing how he could see this movie so many times and yet find it just as funny as the very first time he'd watched it. Sure enough, he was choking with laughter on the bed just like he did every year. Sometimes he'd even watch it for the hell of it during the year without it even being his birthday, and yet he still wasn't sick of it.

"Wow, I forgot how stupid that guy was-" Daisuke began saying, but was cut off when something leaned against his left shoulder. He looked down and saw that Ken had slumped against him, his eyes closed and his body relaxed. Had he just... fallen asleep?

Daisuke blushed a bit, not entirely sure what he should do. Would it be best to just let him sleep against him like this? Could he even get the boy to lay down on the mattress without waking him up?

The redhead's entire body stiffened up and his blush reddened further when Ken sighed softly and nuzzled his head further into the crook of Daisuke's neck. His arms sleepily wrapped around his neck and held on loosely, another tired sigh escaping the sleeping boy's throat. He must have been in one hell of a deep sleep to be letting himself do that...

Daisuke _really_ had no idea what to do now. He'd let him stay like that he supposed, except that the boy's weight was hurting his neck a little... maybe if he just adjusted him slowly or something...

As gently as he could, he lowered Ken down so that he was lying on his right side with his head resting on Daisuke's stomach, the redhead having leaned back a bit against the bed frame. The sleeping boy's left arm was draped across Daisuke's body, and before he could try to move it, Ken once again hugged him in his sleep. Ken's stomach was pressed up to the tanned boy's side, and Daisuke blushed when the boy's legs tangled up with his own.

Somehow his attempt to get Ken more comfortable had led to them cuddling even more. He hadn't even done anything to encourage it! N-Not that he hated it or anything... in fact, it was kind of nice. Ken's body was really warm against his and it made him feel cozier in the bed.

Why was Ken this tired though? Had he stayed up all night working on his birthday surprise or something? Or maybe the spore had... no, he didn't want to think about that nasty thing.

Daisuke tried to watch the movie quietly, but his eyes kept traveling down to the boy sleeping on him. He looked so peaceful like that, without any stress on his face. His hair was so smooth too...

Tanned fingers slowly reached up and played in silky strands of hair with no real goal in mind. A few seconds later his finger tips grazed the boy's head, and a sleepy moan entered Daisuke's ears. He pulled his fingers back, and was met with a sigh of disappointment. Daisuke smiled a bit and let the tips of his fingers run along the boy's head again, as gently as he could.

"Mm..." Ken cuddled closer, clearly enjoying the light touches. Daisuke let his fingers run along his scalp and then pulled them back, not wanting to tangle them up in the boy's hair or catch on a knot. He then put the fingers back, playing lightly along his skin. "Dai..."

Daisuke blushed harder but didn't care enough to question why Ken had said his name that way. He let his right hand trail down to the boy's back and kept his left in his hair, rubbing both at the same time. Ken shuddered and nuzzled into him further, and Daisuke felt a warmth spread all over his body.

The desire to slide his hands up Ken's shirt and feel his smooth skin tugged powerfully at the goggleboy's mind. More even than that, he wanted to roll him over and lay over top of him. He could hold the back of Ken's head with his right hand and his lower back with his left... and just... kiss him.

Tanned hands jerked away from the sleeping boy's body quickly and his eyes darted back up to the TV screen. Daisuke knew he was blushing furiously and he swallowed hard, trying to take deep, slow breaths to help calm his racing heart. On top of that he was getting a bit... _excited_ from his little fantasy just a moment ago.

Seriously, what if Ken woke up and caught him like that? _Nothing_ more awkward could possibly happen. He needed to just shut off his brain and mindlessly watch TV like he was so damned good at doing. No more weird thoughts!

_'Am I gay?'_ Daisuke wanted to slap himself for thinking it, but now that he'd thought it, he couldn't seem to make it leave. Well... he liked girls still as far as he knew, so he couldn't be gay. The things he'd just been thinking about Ken were certainly not straight by any means though. Bisexual then? Had he become bisexual at some point and not realized it?

Maybe he wasn't bisexual but was just having strange thoughts about Ken. This whole, 'help Ken shut off the spore and stop being the Kaiser' thing was stressing him out. Maybe he was just confused and his mind was going off in weird directions or... or maybe he was making up bullshit to try and explain why he was experiencing clearly gay, sexual thoughts and feelings for another male!

Daisuke forced himself to watch more of the movie, glaring at the screen. Whatever, he'd worry about it on a day that wasn't his birthday or something. So with that decision, he let his fingers keep trailing lightly over the sleeping boy's back to encourage him to sleep more, since he clearly needed it.

It _wasn't_ an excuse to keep touching.

He felt his body relax quite a bit, and he slid down into the mattress more so that his head was lying on his propped up pillow. He pulled the blanket up and over them after that, the warmth from both his body and Ken's surrounding them.

_'It's not even noon yet...'_ Daisuke thought sleepily to himself as he glanced at his clock, realizing that he may fall asleep at this rate. Did it really matter though? He'd stayed up really late playing video games, and Ken had stayed up all night fixing his goggles. Both of them could probably use it... and hey, he loved sleeping anyway. What if Ken woke up before him though? Eh, he was too tired to care.

Daisuke adjusted himself a little bit more so that the other boy's head was fully in the crook of his neck, and his own face was nuzzled into his dark hair. Ken's shampoo smelled really nice... and he was super warm and cozy...

The last thing the redhead was aware of before falling into unconsciousness was wrapping his arms around the slender boy's waist tightly.

* * *

Ken first became aware of just how warm and ridiculously comfortable he was. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this great waking up, or this awake either. Even when he finally did sleep, it was never long enough to get fully rested anymore. He always felt so drained... but right now, that wasn't the case.

When had he fallen asleep though? Hadn't he been with Daisuke for his birthday? He must have gone to his room afterward to rest or something. Well... he didn't remember doing that. He had been eating cake and then... uh, that was it. Now he was in his bedroom.

Upon opening his eyes, Ken realized he was wrong about being in his bedroom... it appeared that he was still in the redhead's room. In fact, they were both in his bed, their arms wrapped around each other and legs all tangled up, with his own head resting against the tanned boy's neck and shoulder. How the hell had they ended up _cuddling_?

Face totally red, Ken slowly pulled away from his sleeping prisoner, making sure not to wake him up in the process. Soon enough he had separated from Daisuke, the redhead immediately burying his face into the pillow and hugging it with his arms. Ken put the blanket back over him so he wouldn't get cold and possibly wake up.

Well, his heart rate had sure increased in the span of just a few seconds!

Ken glanced around the room for a clock, trying to figure out just how long he'd been asleep like... that. 3:34pm... it had been maybe a little after 11 in the morning when he'd apparently fallen asleep, so... wow, about four and a half hours! How much of that time had Daisuke been asleep too?

The slender boy lightly stepped off the bed and made his way around the room towards the door, deciding to just quietly leave before the redhead woke up. Maybe they'd nodded off at the same time, and then somehow while sleeping they'd just kind of ended up together? If that was the case, then Daisuke wouldn't ever have to know.

He opened the prisoner's door and then shut it quietly, making his way down the hallway and back towards his control room. Now that he was more awake, it occurred to him that he'd been busy before he'd gone with the redhead. He had never actually gotten to inspect those X-Ray results, and-

Ken stumbled as exhaustion struck his body. His head smacked loudly into the wall to his left and he quickly slid down onto his knees. He held the floor for support as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him. A groan escaped his throat and he held his head as it began aching.

What the hell? He'd been so awake and now it was all gone, just like that. At this rate he was never going to get any work done.

_Waves._

Ken tensed up and his blood ran cold, fear immediately filling his chest. There was no water anywhere to account for that sound, and everything around him had gone grey.

_Waves crashing on rocks._

His chest was tight with nervousness and breathing was becoming more difficult as the fear expanded. Why was he hearing this? There was no water at all, let alone a beach for the water to crash into and make that sound.

_'Calm down.'_ Ken told himself and took a deep, slow breath. It was just his imagination playing tricks on him, or maybe he was still asleep even and having another nightmare. The lights were on in the hall too so nothing really weird was going to happen. He just needed to be mature about this and stop letting his mind win. Little kids were afraid of their own imagination, not high schoolers-

Something moved quickly on his right and Ken whipped around to face it, backing into the wall he'd smacked his head on. There was nothing there though, just like before in the control room.

Ken felt a shiver run up his entire body and he rubbed his arms, trying to ease the goose bumps that were appearing now. There was a whisper from somewhere nearby that echoed along the corridors, though it was so quiet that he couldn't make it out. It got a bit louder, and then a bit louder, until he could _almost_ decipher the words.

Movement from his left this time startled Ken so badly that he couldn't get any sound out of his throat. Fear consumed his chest and his body started to shake. He had to get out of this hallway and somewhere safe. Every time he saw a shadow move, it was gone when he looked directly at it. Except that the whispers were getting louder now... just so loud...

Ken took a few steps back towards Daisuke's room, but when he did he heard water splash around his legs, and unlike before, when he looked down there actually was water. In fact, the whole hallway was flooded to the point of the water being halfway to his knees. The water itself was gray and ice cold, and none of it had even been there a few seconds ago. There was no way the entire upper level could have flooded that fast...

_Waves and laughter_.

Ken's hands shot up to the back of his neck as a sharp pain seared through it. Something about this was familiar, and in a way that he didn't want to remember at all.

Sudden splashing and writhing in the water startled him from his thoughts, and just to his left, there was something running at him. He could barely see what it was because it was too short to really break the surface, but he recognized the red glowing eyes and dark ring. It appeared to be a shadowy black Gazimon slave. At the same time the laughter became painfully loud and echoed all around him.

In fact, it was his _own_ laughter.

Ken ran as fast as he could down the hallway and away from the dark creature. Even if it looked like a Digimon, nothing about it was right. It was faster than him and he knew it would ultimately catch him. His heart beat thudded against his ears, his blood had run icy cold, and the fear of being caught by whatever that thing was completely overpowered his mind.

The splashing was closer, and closer, and then it was right on his heels. Ken screamed at the top of his lungs and spun around, kicking his right leg as hard as he could at it in hopes of at least hurting it enough for him to get another head start. However, his leg connected with only air, and he nearly lost his balance from the attempt.

Ken panted deeply, a cold sweat covering his body and tears tugging at his eyes. There was no more water in the hallway, no more splashing Digimon, the laughter had stopped entirely, and everything had become still. So still and quiet, in fact, that his ears were ringing from it.

He finally reached the control room and slammed the door shut, closing his eyes and trying to breath, the fear in his chest not even remotely subsided. This was a bad dream... that's all it was... just a bad dream... he was going to open his eyes and wake up now... he'd be in his own bed and none of this would have happened...

Ken leaned his back against the door and opened his eyes. However, he was immediately met with a dark shadow looming over him, in the general shape of a Gorimon with red glowing eyes. It's head was tilted to the side a bit, and the laughter wracked his skull once again.

Ken gasped harshly, screamed and threw his arms over his face, but that didn't even remotely stop the Gorimon from shooting its arm out and grasping his neck tightly. He was slowly lifted up off the floor, a dark and twisted smile appearing on its black, shadowy face. His own laughter in his ears was so loud that it pierced his skull, and his back was slammed roughly against the door by the Gorimon shadow.

He felt dizzy as his attempts to breathe in failed, his body growing weak. He was going to die... he was going to-

"KEN!"

"NO!" Ken's eyes shot open, suddenly finding himself lying on the floor in the hallway instead of in the control room, where he should have been. He lashed out and roughly shoved whatever was hovering over him, backing away until he hit a wall. His breathing came out in painful, raspy pants and he ached from head to toe, his limbs shaking uncontrollably.

"Oww... what the hell Ken?!" An irritated voice floated over to him, and Ken realized that what he'd just pushed was Daisuke. The redhead was rubbing his head, appearing to have smacked it on the opposite hallway wall as he was pushed over onto his ass. Hallway... he was in the corridor just outside Daisuke's room on the floor, and not in the control room...

Ken tried not to cry, but the sobs were more powerful than his will was, and he felt his body curl up on the floor. He buried his face into his arms. Just a few seconds later he was lifted up into a sitting position and warm arms wrapped around him.

"Ken, what's happening?" Daisuke's voice was filled with concern, and his fingers began running soothingly through his hair. "Why are you on the floor like this? I could hear you screaming from my room!"

He still couldn't get any words out, and it made him feel even more stressed out. He choked a bit, and then started sobbing into the other boy's shoulder. Ken clutched the boy's back even tighter, afraid that something might rip him away and drag him down into the dark waters.

Daisuke didn't ask any more questions or say anything else, instead forcing the boy to stand and walking him back towards his bedroom. Once they were there he locked the door and sat them both down on the bed, adjusting Ken directly between his legs so that he could hold him closer. Ken's arms quivered, but not as violently as a few moments ago. The fingers running through his hair and along his back helped sooth some of the fear away.

"Shhh..." Daisuke's voice was quiet, but Ken still heard it. He could finally breathe without gasping, and the sweat on his skin wasn't nearly so cold or clammy.

Ken pulled away, his arms still shaking a bit, and looked back at the door. He didn't see any shadows or movement outside from under the doorway, but...

"Ken?" Daisuke's voice was still very soft. "Hey, talk to me..."

"I-I..." Ken tried to speak but his voice was horse and it was hard to get the words out still. He felt his eyes tear up again...

"Alright, just... come here." Daisuke scooted backwards so he was leaning against the backboard with Ken still in his lap. Ken allowed the other boy to position him so that he was under the blanket on the mattress again. He just couldn't stop shivering...

Daisuke got up after that and headed towards the door, reaching for the light switch-

"No!" Ken gasped and grabbed his hair, terror filling his chest again. "No, please don't-!"

"Okay!" Daisuke put his hands up in the air quickly, surrendering to not shut off the lights. "Sorry, I didn't know..."

"Please... please don't make it dark..."

Sobs wracked his body again as images of what had just occurred in the hallway filled his mind. All of the fear was back and he was shaking even harder than before.

"It's going to kill me..." Ken gasped and couldn't breathe again. "I... I can't...!"

Arms wrapped around him and laid him down onto the pillow, Daisuke once again rubbing his back and head very gently. Ken shivered with something other than fear this time and closed his eyes, not wanting to be awake anymore...

"It's okay Ken..." Daisuke whispered quietly, and Ken finally relaxed against his warm body. He let his head rest against the boy's chest and his arms wrap around his neck. Their legs tangled together, and warmth surrounded them under the blanket. "Nothing can hurt you in here, I _promise_ you."

For the second time that day, Ken felt himself drift off into unconsciousness, but this time intentionally.


	15. Conscience

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 15: Conscience

Author's Note: Many people have been asking if I'll be ending this story soon because back in chapter 7 I mentioned that this fic was "halfway done", indicating somewhere around 14 chapters. To be honest that HAD been my intention, but it's ending up much longer than expected. I don't have any definite answer on how many chapters there will be yet, but I'd estimate _around_ 20. Thanks to Ine-Capa and DigiGirl101 for your help as always.

* * *

V-Mon sat in the grassy field, listening intently to the others as they spoke. The younger kids and their digimon had gotten together in the Digital World, along with Koushiro, Taichi, Yamato, Sora and their partners. The goal was to find a new plan on rescuing Daisuke, but so far they hadn't really come up with much.

Once he'd reached a television screen a few days ago, he'd been able to contact Koushiro right away. The child of Knowledge helped him open a gate to his room and he'd been staying with him and Tentomon since then. Of course Koushiro had asked many questions once he'd arrived, but V-Mon didn't have very many answers. He had no idea why Daisuke chose to stay in the base, or what had been said between him and Wormmon just before his own partner had forced him to leave. He didn't know why Daisuke had done that either, and he didn't know where Ken's base was at right now. Or if Daisuke was safe, or if something was wrong, or... well, _anything_. Koushiro had been disappointed with his lack of knowledge, but he understood nonetheless and had dropped it.

V-Mon looked up at the clear sky above him. The field they had chosen to host their meeting at was quite far from any areas that Ken controlled. The space around them was very wide open, a few trees here and there off in the distance. The sun was high in the sky and there were only a few clouds. Unfortunately, the topic of discussion was quickly creating dark clouds over what would have otherwise been a nice, clear day.

"But none of this even makes sense!" Miyako's voice cut harshly into the conversation. "Why would Daisuke willingly choose to stay there?"

"Maybe Ken threatened him into staying?" Takeru offered with a shrug, not seeming to really believe in the idea but offering it up all the same.

"Why would Ken even have to do that though?" Gabumon frowned.

"Yeah." Yamato picked up. "Ken could have easily stopped Daisuke from leaving the base if he wanted to keep him there, regardless of what Wormmon says or does."

"I agree." Taichi sighed. "I mean, just think about it. Why would Ken even give Daisuke a choice in the _first place_? I bet Wormmon was acting on his own."

V-Mon began tuning out the discussion, staring up at the sky again. He wasn't going to say it to the others, but something had definitely been going on between Ken and Daisuke that he didn't understand. The other humans might get it better because they knew more about that stupid "kissing" stuff. He'd considered telling them about Daisuke kissing Ken at first, but ultimately he'd stayed quiet. Something in his gut told him that it wasn't going to help, and that his partner would have killed him later.

About all that V-Mon really knew was that Ken had been fainting a lot, and his attitude had definitely changed. He wouldn't say he was being a good person by any means, but he'd become a lot less angry. Every single thing hadn't been setting him off every single time, and he'd even seen Ken laugh on occasion. A genuine laugh too, not that nasty Kaiser cackle. None of this explained why Daisuke would kiss him though, or why he'd chosen to stay in the base and force V-Mon to leave. There just had to be a reason for all of this...

V-Mon sighed and fiddled around a bit, growing bored and restless. He loved the other Chosen and all, but without Daisuke there, things could just get so _dull_.

"I think the ring was still effecting Daisuke's mind." A voice cut through V-Mon's thoughts again, this one belonging to Iori. The boy's remark made V-Mon frown. "It might have been removed for whatever reason, but who's to say it hasn't created a lasting effect on his mind? Maybe Ken only removed it because it was giving him brain damage? It would explain why he chose to stay, and since it wasn't _fully_ controlling him anymore, there was enough of Daisuke there to at least let V-Mon get awa-"

"No." V-Mon cut the boy off before he could finish. Everyone turned to look at him. "I don't know how to explain it, but I just didn't get that feeling from him then." V-Mon tried to explain to them. "I was so happy to see him! After Wormmon removed my dark ring I was scared because I knew that Daisuke had a ring on too. When I saw him in the docking room though, I could tell it was him. I didn't expect him to stay though... that's for sure."

"You really think that Daisuke was entirely there when he chose that?" Sora frowned a bit. "I'm not saying you're wrong, I just... it just doesn't make sense."

"If V-Mon says it was Daisuke, then I believe him." Hikari spoke up finally, having remained silent throughout the entire conversation so far. "He's Daisuke's partner, so he would know better than anyone else if something was wrong with Daisuke or not."

"That's true!" Tailmon nodded, her tail flicking with her words. "I would always know if Hikari wasn't herself." She smiled up at her partner, and Hikari smiled back down at her.

"But!" Miyako rubbed her forehead, clearly getting a bit of a headache from all of this. "What other reason could there possibly be? Ken's a heartless monster, he'd probably-"

"Guys, this is pointless." Koushiro sighed and shut his laptop with a snap. He didn't seem angry, but he was clearly done with this discussion. "There simply isn't enough information to make any conclusions with. We can sit here speculating for hours, but it won't get us anywhere until we know more. So unless V-Mon has any more information he can provide, I suggest we move on to tracking down Ken's base again."

All eyes moved to V-Mon, and the little blue digimon tensed up. They wanted more information... he couldn't tell them about the kiss, but he supposed he could tell them something else.

"The only other thing I know is that Ken wasn't really acting like himself." V-Mon once again found it hard to describe what he was thinking. He supposed that was something he and Daisuke had in common, amongst many other things. "I'm not good at explaining things, but... I mean, I just don't know how to describe it! He wasn't being such a jerk face, and he was fainting all the time."

"So... what are you saying?" Takeru asked with a frown.

"I don't _know_ what I'm saying!" V-Mon sighed. "I'm just telling you what I noticed. Something was going on with Ken. He wasn't being as mean around the base all the time, and I think he was getting really sick or something because he kept collapsing."

Hikari gave V-Mon a surprised look as something appearing to occur to her that no one else had thought of.

"Well if Ken is being so _nice_, then why doesn't he let Daisuke go on his _birthday_?" Iori scoffed and seemed to disregard the possibility of there being any change in Ken. "I'd call _that_ a nice gesture, not being such a slave driver that his own partner had to try and take matters into his own hands." Iori crossed his arms in a huff, and Miyako nodded at his words. V-Mon sighed, giving up on getting his point across. Iori and Miyako just seemed determined to make everything Ken's fault, and he doubted anything he said was going to change that. They were just the kind of people who had to see something for themselves to believe in it.

"Alright, well, since this is going nowhere..." Koushiro sighed and placed his laptop back into his backpack. "We're just going to scout areas that Ken will likely go to next. I'll admit though, he hasn't been up to much activity lately so I don't have many leads. It's better than sitting here pointlessly debating, though."

"Alright." Takeru stood up, and the others all followed. V-Mon stood up as well, happy to go out and do something instead of just sitting and listening to everyone angrily bicker. Maybe he should tell them about that whole kissing thing... maybe Hikari, since she seemed to understand things that he didn't.

Koushiro began assigning areas, pointing out everyone's destinations on their D-3 maps. V-Mon held Daisuke's blue D3 tightly in his hands, hoping that somehow he'd be able to find his partner. He couldn't evolve without him, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying his hardest.

"V-Mon?" Hikari tapped his shoulder lightly, the others too distracted with their scouting mission to notice her speaking to him.

"Hi Hikari!" V-Mon turned and smiled up at her.

"Do you think..." She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "Do you think that Daisuke stayed because of Ken's sickness?"

"Huh?" V-Mon thought about it, and he supposed it wasn't totally unlikely. "I guess that could be it, but I don't know if Ken had a serious problem or not. He seemed fine other than the whole, passing out stuff."

"Well, fainting can indicate a very serious problem." Hikari looked over at the others, making sure to keep her voice down. "If Ken was in some kind of life threatening danger, I could see Daisuke temporarily putting aside their differences to help him. It would also explain why Ken hasn't been very active lately, if he's really ill."

"Yeah!" V-Mon was proud to agree with that notion. Daisuke was a blockhead at times, but there was no doubt that he had a big heart. "I mean, I don't know for sure, but that idea feels the most likely compared to the others."

"Let's just keep this between us for now though, okay?" Hikari winked down at V-Mon, but the little blue digimon frowned.

"Why?"

"Well..." The girl looked back over at the group and frowned as well. "There's no proof to back these ideas up, and to be honest, I also doubt the others would grasp the possibility of Daisuke genuinely wanting to help Ken without any kind of manipulation. Especially Iori and Miyako."

"Hikari... can I ask you something?" V-Mon's voice was low and quiet, making very sure that no one other than the Child of Light could hear him.

"Of course."

"Why do humans kiss?"

Hikari raised a confused eyebrow, seeming thrown off by such a random question. "Uh..." She trailed off before finally answering. "They... they kiss because they love each other. There's many different kinds of love, but that's ultimately the reason."

"What kinds of love are there?" V-Mon questioned with pleading eyes, hoping that the girl might be able to shed some light on this massively confusing topic.

Hikari chuckled a bit and began. "Mothers kiss their babies to show that they care about them with all their heart, and that's a kind of love. A boy might kiss a girl because he wants to be together with her romantically, and that's also love. Then there are times when two people kiss because they're attracted to each other, and even though that's a bit more physical, it's still a kind of love. A girl might kiss her friend on the cheek just to show she cares, and that's love too."

"Do humans ever kiss when they don't love each other?" V-Mon asked quietly, still frowning.

"Yes..." The girl trailed off a bit. "But those are uncommon, complicated situations. I'm just trying to give you the basics, which is that _most_ of the time, it's because they love each other."

V-Mon looked up at her, blinking slowly. Sadly, he didn't think he was going to understand any better without either telling Hikari straight up what had happened, or until they'd saved Daisuke so he could just ask his partner himself. At the very least, based on what Hikari had just said, it was probably because Daisuke loved Ken. However _that_ had happened...

"Alright, well... thanks Hikari!" V-Mon nodded and then began walking back over to the others, not seeing the way that Hikari's expression changed against his retreating back.

* * *

Daisuke walked quickly down the hallway, nerves filling his chest. Waking up alone after what had happened just a few hours ago was _not_ what he'd intended to have happen. He hadn't even meant to fall asleep again in the first place! He seriously needed to start going to bed earlier.

So far his birthday had been a pretty big pile of chaos. It had started out really well, and was now ending up quite terrible. Was Ken alright? What if he was having another panic attack somewhere? He and Daisuke had fallen asleep around 3:30pm and it was now 5:10pm. So much could have happened in that amount of time...

He opened the doors to the control room quickly, the guards not seeming to care about his entrance. That was a good sign. At the very least it indicated that Ken hadn't gone into a Kaiser mood and banned Daisuke from doing anything. His happiness was short lived though, as the control room was empty.

Daisuke tried the nearby bathrooms after that, making a point of checking the stalls as well. In the end he found nothing though, and went on to try the kitchen. It was empty too, as well as the cleaning closets and security room. This left Ken's bedroom and the infirmary. If he wasn't in either of those places... then he seriously could be anywhere. Those were pretty much his main stops throughout the day, so if all of those failed then he may as well throw darts at a board.

Ken's bedroom was closest, though he didn't know if he'd be allowed inside. He'd never tried going in there before. There were only two guards outside the room though. Maybe they'd be easy to trick like the two control room guards were.

"Don't even try." The left Hanumon guard warned immediately before Daisuke had even opened his mouth to speak.

"Under no circumstances are you allowed inside." The right Meramon guard spoke quickly after the Hanumon had finished.

"Alright, fine." Daisuke crossed his arms and looked up at them. So much for getting his way... "But can you at least tell me if Ken's in there or not?"

"Ken is not inside." The Meramon answered, and Daisuke was pretty sure he was telling the truth. They didn't seem as though they wanted to lie to him, just keep him out of the room as ordered. Unless Ken told them to tell him false information, but he rather doubted that in this case.

"Okay, but has he been here anytime within the last hour and forty minutes?" Daisuke asked in hopes of at least knowing where Ken _had_ been.

"He hasn't been here since early this morning." The Hanumon seemed to be less rigid towards him at least. "He hasn't even come down this hallway, so I have no idea where he's at." Daisuke nodded and walked away, not liking how this was turning out at all. He still had one last room left to check, but if Ken wasn't in there then he was screwed.

Daisuke quickly opened the door to the infirmary and stepped inside, and while it was nice to not be met with yet another empty room, it still didn't contain Ken. Instead it was Wormmon, who appeared to be looking at some kind of chart on a large machine.

"Ugh!" The goggleboy groaned and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to decide what to do now.

"Daisuke?" Wormmon's voice was quiet from within the infirmary. "Are you alright?"

"No!" Daisuke chose to just be honest about it. "I can't find Ken anywhere! He's not in any of the places he should be, so now I have no idea where to look." He crossed his arms in irritation, more at his own bad luck than anything else though. It's not like he really could be mad at Ken for going somewhere in his own base, and Wormmon had certainly done nothing wrong. He was just... pissed.

"Why are you looking for him? Did something happen?" Wormmon was immediately worried and guarded. Daisuke frowned, not sure what to say. It was understandable why Wormmon was upset, but it seemed that the little green digimon was _always_ stressed about something.

"Well last night he had a panic attack and I have no idea why." Daisuke tried to remember as best he could. "I woke up to him screaming and he was too worked up to tell me what happened. We kind of fell asleep after that, and now he's just gone."

Daisuke immediately felt bad when Wormmon seemed to get even more worried than before. "Hey, what's wrong with _you_?" Daisuke asked finally. It was painfully obvious that something more than what he'd just said was bothering the insect. He'd already seemed on edge when he'd come into the infirmary in the first place.

"Come look at this." Wormmon sighed and motioned over to the screen he was looking at. The redhead complied and stood next to the stool that the digimon was perched on top of. "This is an X-Ray of Ken's body that was sent to the control room from here not long ago."

Daisuke blinked and looked down at the information, many confusing charts and texts scattered about. The only thing he really recognized was Ken's skeletal diagram. He knew what the body parts should look like and everything seemed fine. There was one exception though; a large black dot in the back of Ken's neck was blinking repeatedly. There was a little text bubble next to it that read 'Foreign object. Mechanical, electrical and energy draining. Further properties unknown.'

"That's the spore, isn't it?" Daisuke frowned at it, using the touch screen to turn the skeletal diagram around and look at it from different angles. He also zoomed in on it as far as he could, trying to get a good idea of what it actually, physically looked like. The term 'spore' really did fit... it totally looked like a black, barbed plant spore.

"Yes." Wormmon's voice was strained with nervousness. "What's upsetting for me is the fact that Ken sent this exam to the control room. I'm sure he was going to study it in private, so has he seen it already? If he knows about the spore, then maybe that's why he had a panic attack before."

"Hmm..." Daisuke pondered out loud and then looked down at Wormmon seriously. "But let's say he does know about it. The fact that he only had a super bad dream could be a good thing, right? It means the spore might not be able to just drain his energy to death if it feels threatened."

"But if he _doesn't_ know, and we tip him off to it being there..." Wormmon sighed and shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous."

"Wormmon..." Daisuke felt frustration coming back into his system. "We can't just be safe forever! If this spore is _really_ controlling his mind and draining his energy to the point of death, then we need to _do_ something! We can't just keep sitting here being too scared to act."

"Endangering him further isn't going to-"

"It's even less helpful to sit back and watch in fear!" Daisuke cut Wormmon off before he could finish. "You told me that you felt bad because you haven't done anything up until now... well then stop doing nothing! At the rate we're going, he's either going to end up being the Kaiser under the spore's full control again, or he'll be a flat-line here in the infirmary. Finding out what he knows would be a good start."

"Daisuke..." Wormmon seemed a bit frustrated himself now. "There's really no way to ask him about it without informing him of its presence and making him curious."

The redhead sighed and looked down at the diagram again, trying to read some of the words in the large text box nearby. He gave up after about thirty seconds though, rubbing the headache forming between his eyes with his finger tips. Yeah... they would need Andromon for this.

"I can't make any sense out of this crap." Daisuke turned around and leaned against the machine. He let his eyes focus on the door while he thought. "Do you think if we shocked it again, it would just shut off entirely? I mean it only got screwed up in the first place because of that electrocution from Thunderballmon. At the very least, it might give the spore enough energy to stop using Ken's. Obviously we'd need to talk to Andromon about it first, but... it might work, right?"

"I guess we could ask him." Wormmon gave him a small, hopeful smile. There, see? He knew he could come up with at least one good idea that would get them moving along. Wormmon just needed someone to keep him from worrying 24-7.

"Whatever it takes, ya know?" Daisuke smiled back. "Ken has been really nice lately and I don't want that to change again. I could actually see us being friends when he's being himself like this and the spore isn't controlling him."

"He was always a nice boy." Wormmon nodded and turned back towards the diagram. Daisuke looked back over at the door on the opposite side of the room. It was then that he realized he'd left it open a crack after he'd come in. Not that it really mattered, but...

Well anyway, at least they were finally making some kind of progress. With any luck they might be able to fully deactivate the spore soon!

* * *

The elevator doors opened and the buttons to select a floor lit up. The light on the ceiling was dim, as though it would need to be replaced soon. The floor was metal but had a black rug over it so that it wouldn't be too hard on one's feet.

Ken let out a long sigh as he entered the elevator and tried to decide which floor to pick. His body felt frozen though, along with his mind. Turning around and looking at the buttons didn't really help him snap out of it either. There were just too many things to take in... so he settled on pushing a random button and letting the elevator take him wherever it went.

He hadn't meant to overhear Daisuke and Wormmon's discussion in the infirmary. He'd been going in there to try and have someone look at the back of his neck because it kept burning. What he'd ended up doing instead was hearing about some kind of conspiracy going on in his base.

A wave of anger filled his chest. How could they keep something like that from him all this time? They say they want to protect him... what the hell was that supposed to mean?! If Ken knew about it, then he could do something to handle it on his own! He was certainly smarter than either Wormmon or Daisuke, and had a much better chance of removing whatever foreign object was messing with his body than both of them _combined_. And what was this about Andromon? Was he in on it too?!

Ken felt his fingers touch the back of his neck. It was throbbing again...

He kind of wished that he had burst into the room and yelled at them now, but at the time he'd just been too overwhelmed with emotions and confusion to do anything other than walk away. They were probably wrong anyway, it wasn't like they knew anything. But... if Andromon was helping...

From what he understood, some mechanical spore thing in his body was controlling his mind and draining his energy to keep itself going. How could they even know that? They weren't smart, but he supposed Andromon might be skilled enough to gather such information. Had they damaged his dark ring and got him to work together with them? Then again, Andromon was far less likely to help them without the ring influencing his mind. They must have convinced him that helping them was in Ken's best interest.

He'd really never felt betrayed before, because he didn't allow himself to trust people enough that they ever could break his belief in them in the first place. He'd clearly gotten too attached to Daisuke and Wormmon. But... being attached to them had felt nice. He couldn't recall truly caring for anyone but his brother before. This was why, wasn't it? Because every time he let himself get close to someone, it ended with pain. He couldn't trust loving someone the way he'd loved Osamu, and apparently he couldn't let himself befriend others either. Love and friendship were stupid. They did nothing more than build you up and drop you on your ass later.

Daisuke and Wormmon were stupid. They didn't know anything, and neither did Andromon. He just needed to investigate whatever was in his neck on his own, and he'd find out what was really going on.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Before him was the dark dungeon at the bottom of the base, where the strongest digimon were stored. If you walked all the way down the hallway to the other side of the room you'd find a large door that the digimon were released from, usually to attack the Chosen.

Ken got walking into the room slowly. A chill ran down his spine and he realized that this was the first time he'd felt uncomfortable in here. He came down here all the time and always felt fine. But right now...

As he walked further into the room, glowing red eyes surrounded him. They seemed to be waiting for any orders that might come from their master. Ken had none for them though, and he wasn't sure why he'd even left the elevator in the first place now. Nothing felt right... nothing at all. The base, the slaves, his mission, Daisuke, Wormmon, what he'd just overheard... none of it was right anymore.

_'What could I do to make it right?_' Ken thought to himself, eyes focusing on the large, digimon sized exit doors across the room from him. Maybe if he could just figure out what he really _wanted_, he could-

"Nothing." A familiar voice said curtly from behind him where the elevator was. Ken immediately stiffened up and turned around, his fears confirmed. Osamu was there, appearing as the eleven year old boy he had been just before his death. His body was whole, healthy and undamaged.

"W-What?!" Ken backed away from him and had trouble breathing. How could he possibly be here in front of him like this? It wasn't possible!

"There is nothing you can do to make this right." Osamu's voice was filled with anger and disgust. "Not after what you did to me. We both know I only died because you wished it so badly. Apparently I meant so little to you that your desire to have more attention surpassed the value of my life."

Ken's chest tightened, memories flashing across his memories. " I didn't really want that! I... I was little and I didn't know what I was saying, and-"

"If you said it at all then there was clearly a part of you that desired it." Osamu cut him off before he could finish. "I knew that mom and dad didn't treat you well, so I constantly put off very necessary studying just to play with you. I sacrificed a lot to make you happy, because you were my little brother. Look what that got me. You're so ungrateful."

"N-No..." Ken's body and voice were shaking. "I-I didn't-"

"I know you were listening, Ken." A new voice spoke loudly, Ken spinning around towards the large exit doors. Daisuke was the one in front of him now. "You found out that I've been trying to protect you, and now you actually think less of me? So after sacrificing my chance to leave the base and be happy again, _just_ so that I could try to help you, that's how you repay me?"

Ken put his hands in his hair and shook his head in frustration. "Daisuke, why didn't you tell me?! I trusted you and you've just been lying to me-"

"How many times have you lied to _me_?!" Daisuke snapped. "At least keeping this from you was in your best interest. What about when you turned a bunch of Bakemon into my friends and made me beg for forgiveness? Where were the _good intentions_ in that?"

"B-But I could have helped you investigate it-"

"As if you would have." Daisuke cut him off again. "You've kicked, whipped and beat me just for the _fun_ of it. You would have just laughed in my face had I tried to tell you about this, and then sent me to a dungeon cell. So instead I did it secretly, and even _that_ gets me in trouble? Nothing will ever be good enough for you." Daisuke crossed his arms. "You're simply an ungrateful piece of filth."

"I've sacrificed a lot for you too, Ken." Wormmon was suddenly at Ken's shivering feet. "I've been hurt more than anyone else in this base, and yet I've never left you. No matter how much it hurt me, I've remained quietly by your side."

"Wormmon..." Ken's knees buckled beneath his weight, and when he landed on folded legs, his hands covered his face. His shoulders shook and his breaths came out in shakes.

"You just don't love me back, do you Ken?" Wormmon continued. "No matter how much I care for you and put up with your abuse, it's all just a fun game for you. Hurting me makes you happy, seeing me cry makes your day brighter... my sacrifice for you has really been worthless, because you'll never change."

"At least you get to deal with all of that."

Ken didn't need to look up to know that the slave in the cell just behind him had said that, whichever digimon it was. "We just sit in here all day long, alone in the dark." The digimon continued. "We're not allowed to leave or see light, or feel fresh air, or even walk around the metal hallways. We're whipped for no reason, screamed at, and eventually sent off to fight and die in an arena for nothing. Few are lucky enough to fight the Chosen and be released of the ring without death."

Ken shivered from head to toe, trying desperately not to break down. It was proving futile though, because he knew that everything they were saying was true.

"It's simple Ken." Osamu's footsteps picked up and stopped right in front of him, his voice harsh and firm. "You're the one who should have died instead of me."

"You're scum!" Daisuke stomped up to him and hollered down at him, tears in the redhead's eyes. "I could have gone home and made my family not have to worry anymore! I may as well have just left you here to rot under that spore, since you hate everything I do for you anyway!"

"I shouldn't even be your partner." Wormmon verbally spat. "If you want a stronger digimon so badly, then you might as well just go find one. I wonder how you'll do without me here protecting you though."

Ken finally broke, sobs echoing around the dungeon. He didn't feel sorry for himself though, as he was sure it probably seemed. It was more that he was sorry for how right they actually were. He really should have been the one to die instead of his brother... what did he have that Osamu hadn't? Nothing, because in every way his brother had been better. And he really had slapped Daisuke in the face. He'd stayed to try and help him, and all Ken could do was look down on him even more. He hadn't appreciated anything the boy had done for him at all. Wormmon was probably the worst of all... having been putting up with his abuse for much longer than anyone else, and for no more reason than the fact that he simply loved Ken.

He... he was a monster.

"I'm done watching over you." Osamu's voice was quiet, and Ken looked up at him. "You aren't the kind little brother I remember, so I may as well just move on."

"I'm leaving the base." Daisuke spoke up immediately afterward, and Ken could feel his arms shaking harder. "I don't need to help someone and then get treated like shit."

"I'm going with Daisuke." Wormmon looked up at him with no compassion in his eyes whatsoever. "I'm sure he and the other Chosen will love me back."

"N-No...!" Ken gasped and stood up sharply, all three of them having already turned around and started walking towards the large exit doors. His voice was shaking to the point where he could hardly even understand himself. "W-Wait!"

Ken ran towards them with his arm stretched out in hopes of grabbing at least one of them before they reached the door. He couldn't bear to watch all three of them leave. He didn't want to be alone in this dark place. But... but didn't he deserve it?

Ken slowed to a walk and his arm fell a bit.

After how hard he'd pushed everyone away, what right did he have to ask them to stay now? He was lucky that Wormmon had remained throughout everything and that Daisuke had chosen to try and help him in the first place. He'd always felt like Osamu was still with him to some degree, watching over him. If that was true, then why should he waste his time when he could just move on to the afterlife?

They might be the only ones he had... but he didn't deserve them.

Ken stopped walking and let his arms fall limp at his sides. The doorway that lead out into the Digital World was bright with light. A few seconds later, Daisuke picked up Wormmon and the two of them walked through the doorway and out into the Digital World. Osamu quickly followed, and the light seemed to envelope them completely.

Then the doors shut loudly, and Ken was left alone in the now completely dark dungeon with his slaves. A dim light flickered on somewhere behind him.

Suddenly countless angry shouts and curses blended together into a violent hum from the slaves. Once again Ken felt his knees give out under his weight.

"Monster!"

"Ungrateful Filth!"

"Murderer!"

"Psychopath!"

"You will never be forgiven!"

His body went numb and his mind shut off. He didn't cry about his situation and he wasn't scared. This was simply what he had left after pushing away the only people who had ever truly mattered. He had the base, the slaves and himself. He would never be welcome in the Digital World as a friend, and the real world was a fate worse than death. So he may as well just empty himself of emotion an continue being the Kaiser until the end. That was truly his only future.

Ken gasped and held his hair, shaking his head roughly. No... no, that wasn't what he wanted! He didn't want to be all alone here doing things that he knew deep down were terrible! Why couldn't he just try to start over like Daisuke had said before? It would be hard work, but he could do it if he just-

The back of his neck erupted in pain and Ken fell onto his side, clutching the painful spot with both hands.

Daisuke and Wormmon were right, weren't they...? The spore knew he was having second thoughts about being the Kaiser and was trying to manipulate him. It was trying to influence him to give up and just be the Kaiser again, instead of being himself.

In fact... he probably wasn't even awake right now.

With that thought, the room spun and warped. Objects stretched and curled like abstract art, and many of the colors around him became inverted. The sound of the elevator doors closing slowly caught Ken's attention, and when he looked over at them, he saw himself lying unconscious on the conveyor floor.

Ken jumped up onto his feet and ran as fast as he could towards the closing doors. Just before it was going to shut, he shoved his hands into the gap and pulled in the opposite direction on the right sliding door. They creaked and pulled against him, still trying to close. He managed to pull the sliding doors open little by little, though it was not yet enough for him to get his body through.

A shadow in the room moved and Ken looked back into the dungeons. A black, featureless figure stood in the middle of the hallway. The way it was shaped, with a cape on its back and its hair spiked up like that, it was quite clear that it was supposed to be Ken as the Kaiser.

Ken's body went ice cold with fear as the shadow walked towards him, its movements jerky and unbalanced. He wrenched hard on the door, forcing the elevator to open a good inch more. He pulled even harder and gained another inch of space.

The figure was shaking as it walked, jerking roughly, as though the act of moving was hard for it. Ken shut his eyes and screamed for adrenalin. This time he managed to pull so hard on the door that his fingers ached. It worked though, and the doors slid open enough that he could finally get through.

Freezing cold shadowy hands wrapped around his neck as Ken tried to get into the elevator, and the moment it touched him, the laughter ran through his head. It was his own evil cackle that he'd heard thousands of times while being the Kaiser. Hearing it in this way sent shivers down his spine.

Ken stumbled and fell painfully onto the hard floor. His shadow self reached down and grabbed his shoulders, yanking back hard. The elevator doors were closing again, and from his position on the floor, there was no way to stop it.

A wave of hopelessness filled his chest and tears tugged at his eyes. He tried to pull himself into the elevator before the doors could close, but with the shadow pulling against him so hard, it wasn't possible. He was going to be pulled back into the dungeon and the elevator was going to shut him off. After that...

He could see himself in front of him, lying unconscious on the elevator floor just inches away. His eyes were twitching and his head was shaking from side to side. Scared whimpers escaped his throat. Was he seeing himself while having this dream?

He reached out to touch the hand of the Ken lying in the elevator, and just before the doors crushed his arms, he managed to grasp onto cool fingers...

Ken's eyes shot open as he jerked awake on the elevator floor, spasms shooting through his body from head to toe. He was lying on his back when a sharp gasp filled his lungs, and the exhale turned into a gut wrenching scream. As he neared expelling the last of his air, the scream turned into shaky sobs. After another sharp intake of breath entered his lungs, he whimpered and his breathing shook violently. His arms quivered while he tried to cover his face with his hands.

After many attempts to breathe slowly, he managed to get the spasms to stop. He'd calmed at least enough to notice the dark lower dungeon in front of him. The red eyes of the slaves stared at him... piercing his soul through the open elevator doors.

Ken held his breath as fear overwhelmed him, and he forced himself onto his feet. Having no strength left in his muscles or joints, he stood just long enough to push the button for the top level of the base. After that he allowed himself to fall back down onto the floor of the elevator. The doors shut, and the lift began ascending slowly.

He was no longer sobbing, but simply shaking. His breathing, voice and body were quivering uncontrollably and it didn't seem to be getting any better. He thought that if he just kept taking deep breaths he would keep on calming down until he was normal again, but he seemed to have reached the peak of improvement.

The elevator doors opened and lead the way into an empty hallway, the infirmary not too far away. He pulled himself up onto his feet painfully. His entire body ached as if containing a terrible flu, and his head was starting to spin. In fact, he was finding it very difficult to keep his balance.

Ken stumbled but held onto the wall for support. As he neared the infirmary he felt himself tense up even more. What if Daisuke and Wormmon weren't in there...? What if they had really left and it wasn't just a dream? What if that shadow was still down in the dungeons? What if...

Upon reaching the outside of the infirmary, Ken was able to hear Wormmon and Daisuke talking quietly. They weren't discussing the spore anymore from the sounds of it, but were now going on about where Ken might be.

The tyrant let himself slide down onto the floor. Silent sobs of relief shook his body and he shut his eyes to hold back tears. They were still there... they hadn't left... and from the sounds of it, they were about to start looking for him. He couldn't handle facing them right now, not right after all that...

Ken tried to get back up on his feet, but his strength just wasn't there. It was hard to stay awake and his body was weaker than he could ever recall it being. Didn't Daisuke and Wormmon say it was the spore doing that to him? He had to overpower this retched thing! He wasn't going to let it win!

With a cringe and a bite of his lip, he managed to force his body back up onto its feet. Pain seared through him from head to toe, but he didn't let himself fall back down. Instead he took a step towards his bedroom, and then another step. Every movement ached, but he didn't stop.

Far from quickly, his bedroom was in sight along with the guards outside. They saw him and seemed to realize something was wrong immediately. Ken let himself drop down to the floor when they began rushing over to him.

"Master!" The Hanumon knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder. The Meramon stood nearby and watched, unable to touch Ken without burning him. "What's wrong? Did someone attack you?"

"N-No..." Ken cringed and tried to push back the nausea rising in his throat. "I'm just... sick..."

"Hanumon pick him up and take him to his bed, you moron!" The Meramon growled and the Hanumon did as ordered. Ken allowed himself to be carried into his room and placed on his mattress. After pulling his blanket up over his body, he was finally able to relax his sore muscles.

"Master... what should we do?" The Meramon asked from outside the room, unable to step inside because he would surely light the carpet on fire.

"Just stay out there." Ken sighed, a strong drowsiness enveloping his mind. "Leave my light on and shut the door. I'll call to you if I need anything. Just... just let me rest..."

"Yes master." The Hanumon nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind him and making sure not to turn off any lights.

Ken stared up at his ceiling, so many thoughts filling his mind that it created an overwhelmed mess. He couldn't really grasp onto any one thought or idea, because five more shoved their way into his thoughts, and then five more after that. So instead he just let himself shut down.

Before falling asleep though, Ken was able to realize one very important thing; he needed Daisuke and Wormmon, because there was no way he was going to pull himself out of whatever fucked up Hell he was quickly sliding down into without them.


	16. Heat (C)

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 16: Heat (C)

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long again, I've been moving. Just a reminder that both Ken and Daisuke are eighteen in this. I've had quite a few people forget that they're not canon age and then get thrown off. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reads and reviews this story, as well as to Ine-Capa for your help as always =) My other beta, DigiGirl101, isn't able to edit my work anymore due to real life stuff, but I appreciate all of the help she gave me!

Chapter Note: The "C" in the title means that I've censored some of the chapter, in this case, due to sexual activity that goes beyond what's allowed on FanFictionNet. The uncensored version of this chapter, for those who wish to read it, will be located on my AO3 account (a link is on my user profile page). Otherwise, when you reach the part that makes you feel like more should have happened, just know that more DID happen. Also, please read my author's note at the bottom of the page when you get there (it says the same thing on AO3 and FanFictionNet).

* * *

Something was wrong.

This was the only thought running through Daisuke's mind while he once again searched the base for the only other human there. None of the slaves seemed to have any idea where he might have gone. It was as though he'd vanished entirely for the past three days, and the young man's fears were starting to get out of hand. Ken should be in his control room, or his bedroom, or the kitchen, or... or _somewhere_! But he just _wasn't_ anywhere!

What if he left the base for some reason? But if that was the case, then why hadn't Wormmon been informed of his departure? Ken always told him where he was going, regardless of the tyrant's apparent dislike for the little green digimon. The problem was that Wormmon had even less knowledge of Ken's current whereabouts than Daisuke did.

Just like every day recently, he'd checked the most likely places to find Ken first and was now stuck with deciding which random floor to try. One of the dungeons maybe? He could see Ken going there. Maybe something broke and he was trying to fix it. There were so many dungeons though, it would take a while to cover them all. The lower you went in the base, the stronger the slaves in the dungeons became. For that reason it was more likely for Ken to be at the bottom floor than anywhere else. It couldn't hurt to try anyway.

Daisuke entered the elevator and pushed the button for the bottom floor. If V-Mon were here then he could search the base twice as fast...

No, he wasn't going to start missing V-Mon again. He'd spent enough time moping over that as it was. He'd done the right thing in separating his partner from all of this insanity. V-Mon wouldn't be able to understand the crazy shit that was going on right now.

The redhead's thoughts were cut off as the elevator doors opened, the dark lowest level dungeon presenting itself before him. The hallway to the docking doors at the other end of the room seemed to stretch on forever, and the eerie sea of red glowing eyes in the darkness certainly did nothing to make him want to enter. He had to though, so after swallowing his fear he took a few steps inside.

The elevator doors shut and the room descended into darkness, some dim lights flickering on a few moments later. Daisuke walked further into the room, noticing that there were no guards. There were tons of video cameras though.

Man, this was creepy... he didn't want to be in here long.

"Hey!" Daisuke spoke up loudly, gaining the attention of every slave in the dungeon. He swallowed hard, not sure if he liked this plan anymore. "Have any of you seen Ken?"

"Yes." Many slaves said at the same time.

"Really?!" Daisuke's eyes widened with surprise and his heart jumped a bit. He had to admit, that left him feeling quite a bit happier. "When did you see him?"

"A few days ago, maybe." One of the DarkTyranomon slaves answered with a growling voice. "Not that I could say for sure. Time blends together down here."

"What did he do?" Daisuke asked with hopeful eyes.

"He was in the elevator the whole time." A Meramon spoke up this time, the light from his fiery body flickering about the room. "He seemed to have collapsed on the floor, and he laid there for a while twitching and moaning. Then suddenly he started screaming as though something was attacking him."

Daisuke's eyes widened for a moment and then turned into a frown, biting down on his lip. He'd had another panic attack for sure...

"He never said a word to us." An Ebidramon cut in. "After he woke up screaming he seemed to have trouble standing. Even so, he managed to push one of the elevator buttons and went back up somewhere else. We haven't seen him since."

"Thanks..." The goggleboy trailed off and looked down at the floor. Damn it, why couldn't Ken have a tracker on him or something? Apparently he was off freaking out everywhere in the base except for where Daisuke could find him. He needed to help him before something bad happened. Again.

He turned and got back inside the lift, pushing the button for the next floor up. Talking to the slaves in the dungeons seemed to be a good idea, so he may as well keep trying it.

When the doors opened though, there was already someone standing in front of the elevator as though waiting to get in. He recognized the other teen immediately.

"Ken!" Daisuke reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the elevator before he could do something stupid, like run away. He didn't have any reason to assume that Ken would do that, but he just couldn't afford to lose track of him again. "Where the hell have you been?!"

Ken didn't answer, and instead stared intently at the elevator buttons. At least he wasn't wearing his Kaiser outfit, his black slacks and long sleeved green shirt looking much nicer on him. Daisuke actually couldn't remember the last time he'd seen him in the caped blue jumpsuit, and he was fine with it staying that way. His hair was straight and soft, and his eyes were that purple color again. These were all good signs.

"Um... hello?" Daisuke waved a hand in front of the other teen's face. Not that his silence was much of a good sign... Ken twitched a bit and seemed to get irritated, but said nothing and continued staring at the buttons. Seriously? After avoiding everyone else in the base for days, this was how he was going to act? "Oh come on Ken, don't give me the cold shoulder."

"Daisuke." Ken's voice was firm and curt. "Please don't make me think about anything right now. It's hard to keep my mind empty with you doing this."

"I... have no idea what you're talking about." Daisuke replied honestly. Keep his mind empty? What the heck? "Look, if you don't want to talk to me you can just say so. You don't need to be all cryptic and-"

"Daisuke." Ken's voice was now pleading and desperate, his eyes narrowing at the buttons. "You want to help me, right? You can do that by not talking to me and making me think about _it_."

"Yeah, fine, great." Daisuke sighed with exasperation and pushed the top floor button on the elevator, a glare on his face. The lift began ascending towards its destination, though Daisuke was finding himself too irritated to care where it went anymore. "Just the usual 'you're so stupid Daisuke, just shut up and go away' business I see."

"That's not it." Ken answered calmly but the goggleboy could tell that it strained him to do so. "Just let me out of the elevator on the next floor, I'll-" Ken tried to reach for the button to make the elevator automatically open on the next floor it reached, but Daisuke stepped in front of the panel.

"No, I'm not letting you out until you tell me what's going on." Daiuske's voice was firm and final as he crossed his arms. Ken wasn't going to just brush him off again like always. "Why are you avoiding-"

"DAISUKE." Ken didn't yell, but his voice was loud and demanding. It also contained very little patience. "I overheard you and Wormmon the other day. So please don't make me think about _that_, for the sake of my health. That _is_ what you stayed in the base for, right?"

The cogs in the redhead's mind started turning, his eyes blinking quite a bit as he tried to piece the puzzle together. He'd overheard them and was trying to not think about something? Something about what Daisuke had stayed for?

Ken had overheard what, exactly? The last time he'd really spoken with Wormmon was in the infirmary three days ago. They'd talked about a lot of things, but mostly about the spore. Did Ken mean...

If Ken had overheard them talk about the spore, then what was he trying not to think about? Was he avoiding thinking about it so that it wouldn't react against him? Was that why he was trying to get Daisuke to shut up so badly? That must be whey he kept having these panic attacks!

And of course here was Daisuke chatting him up, making him think about it in the confined space of the elevator. For fuck's sake, why was he just _so slow_ sometimes? This was terrible... he hadn't wanted Ken to find out like this!

Daisuke groaned and put his hands over his face, worry and frustration overwhelming him.

"I see you figured it out." Ken laughed strangely next to him, watching the elevator light up the buttons as they went up the floors of the base. His laughter wasn't happy though. It was more like a contained nervous hysteria.

"I... I uh..." Daiuske's voice was a bit shaky. He felt incredibly stupid, and for once if Ken called him a moron, he wouldn't even fight it. First he'd talked about the spore with Wormmon while the door was still open, he hadn't been able to pick up on obvious hints, he'd stopped Ken from leaving the conversation when he felt threatened, and now he had no idea what to do or say. "Are... are you okay Ken?" He finally settled with.

"Uh... no." Ken answered frankly, his eyes finally moving to Daisuke's face. "No, I'm really not okay at all, actually." His eyes once again focused firmly on the buttons.

Daisuke cringed and looked at the lights as well. Think, think, think... Alright, this could actually be a good thing! If Ken wasn't thinking about the spore and how to get rid of it, then apparently it left him alone. That was really important information! Not... that he'd wanted to get in this way... but now that he had it, he needed to at least use it. Andromon needed to know as soon as possible.

As for right now though, this was ridiculously awkward... talking about unrelated things to keep Ken's mind off of the spore just felt inappropriate and wrong, but if that was what Ken needed then he should just do it. At the same time though, he wanted to know what Ken was feeling. He was clearly bottling a lot up, and not just thoughts about the spore.

The elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened, Ken stepping out very quickly. Daisuke followed him but still couldn't think of anything to say or do.

"I'm going to the control room for a while." Ken said simply, his eyes holding a desperate tone. He was trying to tell him something without saying it... "I feel really tired so I think I should just work on something. Anything really... you know?"

"Y-Yeah, work on something." Daisuke nodded and placed his hands on the teen's shoulders, guilt filling his chest. "If you need anything just call me over the intercom, okay?"

"Right." Ken seemed as though he was going to back away at first, but apparently changed his mind and did the opposite. The redhead felt the other boy's arms wrap tightly around his back and hold on desperately, and he returned the embrace with equal emotion. There was a fear between them that they shared, because they both knew that something was going to give soon. If it wasn't the spore, then it would be Ken's sanity. There just wasn't any more time; Daisuke had to act now.

"I-I'll see you later." As Ken pulled away, his left hand and Daiuske's right linked together. Their fingers laced at the ends, and only when their arms were fully extended did they finally pull apart. Daisuke stepped forward for a moment but then stopped. He wanted to go with him, but... he couldn't. He needed to go find Andromon and Wormmon. So he let his arm drop down to his side, and then watched Ken walk away until he was out of sight.

Daisuke turned and headed quickly back to the elevator, pressing the button with the number 3 on it. He knew that Andromon normally stayed in the third level security room, keeping cameras running and whatnot. When he wasn't there he was in the infirmary working with Wormmon, but since Daisuke already knew he wasn't there, he had to be on the third floor.

It didn't take him long to reach his destination, and sure enough Andromon was working hard on camera maintenance.

"Andromon!" Daisuke was happy to see that he was the only one in the room, so he shut the door firmly behind him. After that he double checked to be sure the door was actually shut all the way... "Hey, I need to talk to you."

"About what?" The mechanical digimon asked in a robotic voice that Daisuke recognized. He had met another Andromon once before with Hikari and the others. This wasn't that same digimon, but his way of speaking remained the same.

"It's about Ken." Daisuke replied quickly. "He knows about the spore because he overheard me talking to Wormmon... stupid mistake I know, but it happened." The young man watched as Andromon continued working at the console, but the digimon seemed as though he was listening. So he continued. "Anyway, the spore didn't drain him like we thought it would! It seems that if Ken doesn't think about it, then it'll leave him alone. I still don't' really understand how it all works, but uh... I thought telling you that might help."

"I understand." Was Andromon's simple response.

The room fell into silence as Daisuke waited. And waited... and waited. The boy blinked a bit. Surely he was going to say more than that, right? Daisuke blinked more, still waiting as Andromon continued with his work at the security panel.

"Uh... Andromon?" Daisuke asked slowly after a few more awkward moments had passed.

"Yes Daisuke?" The digimon asked simply.

"I..." The redhead trailed off. "I just thought you would have more to say than that. What's the plan for helping Ken? So far I've heard everything from Wormmon, but I wanted to ask you now because you actually understand this crazy spore thing. I was thinking... what if we shocked it again? Would that shut it off for good?"

Andromon looked down at him for a moment, and then pushed a few buttons on the keyboard to lock up the panel. Then he faced him fully. "Daisuke." He began, his words just as mechanical as before. "You wish to aid Ken in overpowering the spore's influence, am I correct?"

"Yes!" Daisuke nodded immediately.

"Then you must understand that there is no guaranteed strategy for restoring the master's mental facilities." Andromon looked the redhead straight in eye while he spoke. "I contain a multitude of theories, though all possess a relatively high chance of failure. Ultimately, we must choose the course of action with the highest success rate and put our emotions aside. I can accomplish this easily, though I remain unsure whether or not you and Wormmon are capable of such."

"Our emotions?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What does that have to do with what's most likely to work or not?"

"I communicated my highest success strategy to Wormmon recently." Andromon answered with no change to his voice or emotion at all. "However, his senses were compromised with emotion and he refused to consider it. On his part, this was not a wise course of action."

"Well what are your different ideas then?" Daisuke didn't have a good feeling about this. If Wormmon couldn't handle it, then how was he going to react?

"There are many actions we could take, though only three contain a high enough percentage chance of success to truly consider doing. The first, and least likely to succeed of the three, is that we physically remove the spore from the master's body. However, there is a 30.2% chance that it will retaliate and drain his body of all required energy while we perform this action. If this occurs, the master will expire."

"But that leaves us with like, a 70% chance of it working or something, right?" Daisuke retaliated. "How is that a bad option?"

"Because the remaining 69.8 percent is not entirely made up of positive alternatives." Andromon continued. "Of that portion, there is a 26.2% chance that we will be able to remove it before it finishes draining him to death, but the process itself will cause the master severe, permanent brain damage. Then we have a 21.5% chance that the spore will not try to drain him, but due to it being so strongly connected to his brain and nervous system, severe brain damage will still result. This leaves us with an 11.8% chance of the spore draining him but not causing any major damage, and only a 10.3% chance of the spore not reacting at all and allowing us to remove it safely. In reality, you are looking at a 22.1% chance of obtaining the result you desire."

The young man's head fell and he looked down at the floor. That was... not the answer Daisuke had wanted to hear. So even if they managed to prevent him from dying, he was still likely to end up with irreversible brain damage? 22.1% chance of nothing really bad happening? That... really fucking sucked.

"You must understand." Andromon continued. "If the spore were entirely disabled or working at normal efficiency, the odds of a successful removal would be much higher. Right now though, it is in some kind of self defense mode, and because of that, it is more likely to harm the master than normal."

"Well what else can we try then?" Daisuke looked back up and asked, happy to know that at least that was the _worst_ of the three good ideas.

"I can inject the spore with a virus that would attempt to reprogram it. If all went well, it would simply shut itself off entirely."

"Really?!" Daisuke smiled excitedly. "That's great!"

"There are far more negative possibilities with this course of action, however." Andromon cut him off quickly. "As you have witnessed personally, human minds can be effected by viruses in the Digital World. There is a 7.2% chance that-"

"I don't want to hear all the damned percentages!" Daisuke cut the digimon off, feeling a bit irritable at the mention of the Bio Ring. "Just tell me what might happen without all the numbers. That's all I want to know, and only the percentage of _nothing bad_ happening."

"With a viral program, the possible unexpected outcomes are virtually limitless." Andromon tried to explain. "It could alter Ken's mind, effect his body and health, change his personality, empower the spore, accidentally repair the spore; I could go on for quite some time. As for the percentage chance of nothing majorly bad occurring, I am estimating around 31.6%."

"So what's the best option then...?" The young man rubbed his forehead with frustration.

"Shocking the spore is something I have considered thoroughly for quite some time now, in fact." Andromon seemed to be thinking of this option a lot more than the previous two. Why had Wormmon been upset with the idea though? Surely it was better than the other crappy options! "To put it simply for you, as requested," Andromon began again. "There is a chance that the shock will not hit the spore at all, and will instead be absorbed by the master's body. This could cause quite extensive damage to him. If we are successful in hitting the spore though, then there is a 52.2% chance that it will fully shut down."

"And the other 50-ish percent?" Daisuke asked, expecting to not like the answer at all.

"The spore will be given enough energy to fully power itself back up, repair the damage, and take total control over the master's mind again."

"So..." Daisuke rubbed his forehead and eyes with his palms. "We shock him... and _if_ we get enough electricity to the spore, we'll either turn it off and save him, or fix it and turn him back into the _damned Kaiser_?"

"Essentially."

"Fuck this." Daisuke turned on his heel and got ready to storm out of the security room, refusing to accept any one of these "solutions".

"Daisuke." Andromon's voice was not angry, though it did demand a great amount of attention. Enough that the redhead stopped just before he slammed the door shut.

"You want me to accept doing something that might put him right back at square one?!" Daisuke turned and glared at Andromon, frustration overpowering his senses. "Or that we possibly infect his mind like the Bio Ring did to me? Or that we just straight up _kill him_? There has to be a better option, I'm not buying any of this crap!"

"When one plays with fire, they willingly accept the chance of getting burned. If you cannot handle the heat, then you should not stand near the fire. You chose to stay in the base, but you do not seem capable of dealing with the stress that accompanies it. Perhaps you should leave while you still can."

"I'm not abandoning Ken just because you can't figure out a good way to-!"

"The only other thing I can suggest to you," Andromon cut off the redhead's angry words. "Is to seek out the other Andromon that used to reside here. We worked together often, but he appears to have fallen under the corruptible influence of the Chosen; he has abandoned the master. Regardless, he might be able to work out another solution if encouraged to do so."

Daisuke felt some of his anger fade, though he was still far from happy. Andromon wasn't a bad guy... he knew that deep down. He was just robotically analytical about everything, and nothing could be done to change that; he _was_ a robot.

The other Andromon... that must be the one that was friends with Hikari. He met him in that large dome city somewhere out in a desert. He should still be there, actually.

"Then I'll go find him and work out a better plan." Daisuke sighed, shaking his head. "Because I won't accept these shitty options."

"Present this when you find him." Andromon reached up to his chest and pulled out a floppy disk, handing it to the teen. Daisuke took it and placed it in his pocket. "That contains all of the information on the spore. He can analyze it and perhaps produce a new idea with better results than what I have come up with. Afterword I suggest you use this other disk, which will erase his memory bank of any occurrences within thirty minutes. An ally of the chosen cannot be trusted with such sensitive information, after all."

"Yeah... sure." Daisuke said, accepting the second disk now. After that he turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. He was still pretty pissed off, but... he supposed he couldn't blame Andromon entirely. It's not like he wasn't trying, he just had shitty ideas. This other Andromon would probably be able to come up with something better.

But... he wasn't under the influence of a dark ring... so what reason would he even have to help Daisuke with this? Wasn't it more likely that he would refuse to help and hope that Ken drowned in his own misery? He didn't have the forced desire to serve Ken like the slaves did, and if anything he now held a grudge against him.

Fuck, how was he going to pull this off?

Stress crept up the goggle boy's skull and exhaustion followed shortly after. This was so overwhelming... if he didn't want to help Ken so much, he definitely wouldn't be willing to deal with this. Not that he could complain too much. Ken had it far worse than he did...

Speaking of Ken, how was he? Apparently he'd gone to the control room to work and keep his mind clear... ugh, how could Daisuke have let him find out about the spore like this?

The young man groaned into his hands loudly, which at least managed to vent some of his frustration. Not even close to all of it, but it was progress. Maybe if he just did that repeatedly throughout the day, things would get better.

Without much of a plan in mind, Daisuke walked to the elevator and got in, pushing the button for the top floor again. He wasn't going to be able to go find this other Andromon without Ken giving him at least an Airdramon to leave the base with. The other teen would surely let him do it though, now that he knew about everything...

Once the elevator opened up on the top floor, the redhead walked as fast as he could without running. The guards let him inside without any problems, and... the control room was empty?! Oh for the love of...!

"Agh, _Ken_!" Daisuke threw his arms up in frustration. Where the hell had he gone _now_?! "Hey!" Daisuke got the attention of the guards outside the room. "Where's Ken?"

The two Gorimon pointed down the left hallway without a word, clearly not knowing anything more than that. Ken didn't often tell anyone where he was going. And damn it, that hallway lead back towards the fucking elevator! So once again he could be _anywhere_ in the base.

Daisuke growled and stomped out of the control room towards the infirmary, which was in the opposite direction as the elevator. Wormmon was going to get off his ass, stop staring at those damned X-Ray results, and help him find this restless tyrant before he-

A terrified scream echoed down the corridor, from beyond the infirmary. Daisuke recognized it as Ken immediately and broke into a sprint. Upon turning the corner, Daisuke realized the screams were coming from Ken's bedroom. The Meramon guard was looking worriedly into the room, and the Hanumon wasn't there at all. He was probably already with Ken.

Without saying a word to the Meramon, Daisuke ran into the bedroom and spotted Ken in a heap on the floor, gripping his hair tightly.

"HEY!" The Meramon shouted at Daisuke, but he ignored the digimon.

"You aren't allowed in here!" The Hanumon stood up from beside Ken and glared down at him menacingly. Daisuke chose to ignore him as well.

"Ken? Ken!" The goggleboy knelt down next to the other teen and placed his hands on his shoulders gently. "Hey..." He let his words soften as much as possible in hopes of calming the situation. "What happened?"

"Get him out of there!" The Meramon shouted, and the Hanumon suddenly reached over and grabbed Daisuke around the waist. Before he could even say anything else, he was hoisted up off the floor.

"HEY!" Daisuke shouted and kicked angrily at the digimon's legs and stomach. "PUT ME DOWN! I didn't even _do_ anything!"

"Shut up!" The Hanumon squeezed him hard, crushing his ribs painfully. Daisuke coughed and cringed, having trouble breathing now. "I was told not to let you in here under any circumstances, so you're not going to just run in anyway and disobey that!"

"Let... go... of me!" Daisuke kicked harder and struggled as viciously as he could, going so far as to bite the Hanumon's hand. It didn't seem to affect the digimon though. "I'm trying to help him!"

"Oh I'm sure you are." The Hanumon rolled his eyes disbelievingly.

"I _**AM**_ TRYING TO HELP HIM!" Daisuke shouted furiously, enraged at the accusation that he wasn't being truthful. He was already pissed off enough with Andromon as it was. This was just the last mother fucking straw! "FUCK YOU, I'M NOT LYING! LET-_FUCKING_-GO OF ME!"

"You take him to the dungeons." Meramon said to the other digimon as Daisuke scratched the Hanumon's face repeatedly, drawing blood. At the very least, the digimon carrying him out of the room seemed to be having more and more trouble holding onto him with each passing second. "I'll make sure no one else comes in and-"

"Stop!"

Ken's words caused both digimon and Daisuke to freeze and look at him in unison. The redhead still had a cringe on his face though, as the Hanumon had yet to loosen its grip.

"P-Put him down... I want to talk to him alone..." Ken managed to stand up, though he was holding himself with his arms. Was he in pain or was he just afraid?

"But...!"

"What did I just _fucking say_?!" Ken snapped at the Hanumon hysterically, any patience he'd previous possessed had apparently drained entirely with this situation.

"Y-Yes master!" The Hanumon guard tossed Daisuke to the floor roughly, which caused the redhead to stumble and fall on his side. After that the guards shut the door behind them loudly, their grumbling passing through the crack below the door.

An awkward silence filled the now dark bedroom, Daisuke still trying to calm down from how pissed off he'd just been. On top of that he was still stressed out, still exhausted, still upset at Andromon, fuck that Hanumon, and everything was confusing! God fucking damn every single thing in life!

He just needed to scream, and that was all there was to it. So, without asking for permission, the redhead stood up and grabbed one of the pillows from the tyrant's bed, and shrieked at the top of his lungs into it. He drew it out as much as he could, letting himself yell for as long as his body could handle. Once he ran out of air he pulled back and threw the pillow back down onto the bed. Both hands ran through his hair and gripped hard as he took in a long, deep breath and released it as slowly as he could. He did this two more times afterward, taking a deeper breath each time. His body had finally relaxed enough to think clearly.

"I... I'm sorry..." Daisuke finally turned to face Ken, who was watching him with blinking eyes. "I just uh... I was already really frustrated and all that just now didn't help, and uh... I needed to vent before I punched a wall or... something."

Ken didn't say anything, but a smile curled at the ends of his lips. After another moment or two, he covered his mouth with his hand and started laughing quietly, as though he was trying very hard to restrain himself. "Th-that was..." He managed to get out while still laughing. "I've never actually seen someone calm down that way before... it's one of those things you suggest but no one ever actually does."

Daisuke felt a laugh escape his throat, and he shook his head with a smile on his face. "Yeah... sorry."

"You don't need to apologize, it's fine." Ken sighed and let his hand lower finally, no longer appearing to be laughing. "Sometimes when I get _really_ mad I throw things. Actually, back when I made you stay in the dungeons for a while, right after you left the room I threw your chair into the mirror because I was so upset with you."

"R-Really?" Daisuke let out a surprised burst of laughter.

"So at least what you just did to calm down didn't involve destroying something."

"I guess that's true."

The awkwardness in the room had lifted and Daisuke let himself look around finally. It looked similar to his own room, with the exception of there being a personal bathroom connected on the opposite wall as the door that lead out into the hallway. Ken also had a blue theme going on with his furniture and bed sheets, unlike Daisuke's mismatched room with random colors and designs scattered all over the place. The last thing that caught the redhead's eye was the large picture of Osamu on the bedside table.

"I'm sorry if I worried you." Ken hung his head a bit, a sad expression forming on his face.

"_Please_ don't start getting upset." Daisuke sighed and pulled the other teen over to the bed with him, both of them sitting down. "You don't need to apologize."

"Well, it was my own fault. I started thinking about... things."

"Then let's not think about it anymore then." The redhead turned so that he was facing Ken, and reached over to pull him into a hug. "Just so you know though, I'm going to need an Airdramon so I can go do something soon, okay?"

"W-What?!" Ken suddenly seemed very nervous and upset, pulling away from the hug as though he'd been burned. "Where are you going? Why do you need to leave?"

"I..." Daisuke was very confused by the other's reaction. "Uh... well it's to try and handle that little... _problem_ we both know about." The redhead let his eyes move to Ken's neck in an attempt to hint without saying.

"But... but you... you'll come back, right?" Ken's voice was very quiet and weak, and his arms were shaking now. What the hell? This was definitely not one of the reactions he was expecting.

"Ken." Daisuke looked Ken in the eye firmly. "What the hell is up with you? You know I'm going to come back, I just need to go find someone so I can... do some stuff. Ugh, I can't go into details!"

"I... I can't..." Ken's voice shook, as though on the verge of tears. "I don't think I can do this on my own. If you left and didn't come back... which I would completely deserve... I just... I mean, I'm barely getting by even with you here trying to help me!"

"Why are you afraid I won't come back?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "I already told you I was going to stay until I finished with something I have to do here, and I'm sure you've figured out by now that I was talking about _helping you_ when I said that!"

"But I've been so ungrateful to you, and..." The tears started to run down Ken's cheeks. "And I've treated you like crap, and... and I haven't given you even... even half of what you've given me, and..." Ken covered his face with shaking hands. "And I'm just a disgusting monster!" His voice was muffled and a bit hard to hear. "You don't deserve to be stuck here with me and-"

"Stop that!" Daisuke shook the other teen's shoulders roughly in an attempt to snap him out of it. "None of that is true! You're grateful now, and that's all that matters! And I don't need you to repay me or something, just be yourself and that's more than enough! You're not a monster, you're not disgusting, and I'm not 'stuck here' with you; I _chose_ this!"

"I've killed thousands of innocent lives!" Ken's voice had reached hysterics again. "It's not even about whether digimon are real or not anymore, it's about the fact that they actually felt all of that suffering! It's still a _life_, digital or not! I'm... I'm as bad as a serial killer!"

"_No you aren't_!" Daisuke hollered this time, feeling extremely frustrated again. "You've realized what you've done wrong and you can repair the damage! Besides, serial killers don't have fucked up spores in the backs of their necks, messing with their minds and making them do shit they would never do normally! This really isn't even your fault!"

"It's my fault it got this far!" Ken's body seemed to get weaker, and it began to shake a bit. "I let it consume me because I wasn't strong enough to fight it. If I wasn't weak and worthless, none of this would have happened. You should just rip it out of me and let me die, or whatever it is that's going to happen-"

With a frustrated groan, Daisuke let the palm of his hand smack hard against the other teen's face. The slap seemed to echo around the room along with his gasp. Ken held his wound as he looked back at Daisuke.

"I'm not gonna sit here and listen to this!" The redhead clenched his fists, all the frustration he'd just vented coming back to his system. "I didn't stay here to watch you get suicidal and try to give up! If this is how you're going to act then what's the point in me even being here at all?!"

Suddenly Ken's body swayed and it was only Daisuke wrenching him back into a hug that prevented him from falling off the bed entirely. The tension immediately drained from the redhead's body.

"S-So let's watch TV!" Daisuke change the subject away from the spore as quickly as possible.

"Okay..." Ken agreed halfheartedly as he clutched the back of his neck painfully.

Daisuke reached over and grabbed the remote off the bed side table, turning the TV on and flipping to the movie channel. Some action drama that he'd never seen before was on, but it didn't really matter what it was. After that he lead Ken over to the middle of the bed with him, pulling the blanket up over them. They leaned against the headrest and watched the television program intently.

Well, Ken watched intently. Daisuke had too many things floating around in his mind to really pay attention. Did Ken really hate himself that much? He didn't deserve to think so lowly of himself... yes, he'd been doing some pretty terrible things, but... but he was sorry! He was _truly_ sorry! Why couldn't that be enough? Everyone deserved a second chance after all, didn't they? Daisuke believed that they did anyway...

It just wasn't fair that Daisuke could see Ken for who he really was, but Ken himself just saw a demon. Everyone was their own worst critic he supposed, but that was so much more hatred than anyone deserved to feel for themselves. He was taking all of the blame when most of it was the spore's fault! Not that he expected Ken to feel sorry for himself, he would still have to repair the damage... but... but...

Daisuke was upset yet again, and right after he'd calmed down too. He couldn't let it end like that. He needed to say something more to Ken, to try and get him to see what Daisuke could see. But he didn't want to set off the spore either... ugh, damn it!

A sudden shiver from Ken startled Daisuke out of his thoughts. The other teen seemed okay, though his body was shaking. He was looking firmly at the TV screen, but the redhead could tell that Ken was still thinking about their previous topic.

When a tear ran down his cheek, Daisuke couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"I meant everything I said, Ken." The redhead let himself say, knowing he was treading dangerous waters but decided to chance it anyway. As long as he didn't bring up the spore he should be okay, right? "I forgave you a long time ago for everything that's happened. I don't really know when my feelings changed... I just know they did. I was so angry at you for a while, but I guess everything that I've seen and learned made me realize that you're actually a great person. You're kind and caring, and really fun to be around... I just wish you could see that too."

Ken had looked at him while he was talking, though his expression was unreadable for the goggleboy. After he was done, the slender teen looked back over at the movie. "I..." Ken's voice was so quiet that Daisuke almost didn't understand him. "Thank you Daisuke."

Ken shivered again and held the back of his neck, a cringe forming on his face. Daisuke quickly pulled them both down below the covers more. Their heads rested on the pillows and he once again let his arms wrap around Ken's body. After that he let his right hand fingers run gently down the other teen's back, and his left hand trail circles along his scalp through his hair. Ken's body relaxed and he sighed softly.

It seemed this was more efficient at getting Ken to stop thinking than the TV was. In fact, Daisuke reached over and grabbed the remote to turn it off entirely. They weren't watching it anyway. Then he returned to rubbing light circles all over the other teen's body.

Ken's eyes moved upward and met with his, and their gaze lingered. His eyes were red from having cried, and Daisuke felt his head lean forward. Ken shut his eyes as the redhead had expected, and he placed a light kiss on his closed lids.

When he pulled back and looked at Ken, there was a slight blush on his cheeks. The slender teen's eyes couldn't seem to meet with his anymore and kept darting back down to his hands. The redhead chuckled a bit and shook his head.

"W-What...?" Ken asked nervous, finally letting their eyes meet.

"You're just..." Daisuke felt the words come out before thinking about them. "You're just so cute... I kind of can't handle it sometimes."

The slight blush on Ken's face turned into a much deeper one and he once again couldn't keep eye contact. He went back to staring down at his own hands, picking distractedly at his finger nails. Daisuke felt himself turn a bit red actually. He... really hadn't meant to say that... it just kind of came out. Somehow though, watching the way Ken nervously fidgeted while still shivering beneath his touch made him care less about his embarrassing comment.

Daisuke let his fingers curl around the bottom of Ken's green shirt and trail up along his bare skin, his other hand still in the teen's hair. Ken melted almost immediately and sighed gently, which almost sounded like a moan.

The redhead's chest filled with butterflies and his body felt hot. The urge to kiss Ken tugged firmly at his mind, and it took all of his self control to not act upon it. The other teen probably didn't want that, so he-

Ken nuzzled his head into Daisuke's neck and let his index finger trail down his chest lightly. He ran them back up and down, and it gave the redhead shivers. Daisuke pulled away from Ken's skin after that, and he rested his right hand on the other male's hip. His left hand reached over and grabbed Ken's hand that was touching his chest.

When Ken's eyes met with his again, the tug was too strong to resist. Daisuke connected their lips softly while he gripped the teen's hand firmly, their eyes slowly shutting. His right hand pushed against the other's hip until he was lying on his back, Daisuke carefully moving himself over top of him. Before he really knew what was happening, his right hand had made its way under Ken's shirt and was pulling up at his lower back, so that his chest had risen to meet with Daisuke's.

Ken moaned gently, pushing himself up further. Daisuke's head was becoming light and disoriented as a hot passion filled his body. His heart was pounding against his chest as he pushed harder against the other teen's lips.

Gripping tightly, Daisuke moved his hands up into the dark strands of hair. He pushed his body down into the young man, who shivered beneath him. His tongue felt hot, and when Ken opened his mouth for air, he let it slip inside. The teen beneath him didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he slid his own into Daisuke's mouth in response. They searched and played, tasting each other through light moans.

Daisuke broke away from the kiss and then went back into it, deeper this time. They switched which side their heads leaned towards repeatedly while their hands roamed about. Their pace was slow and steady, both enjoying the closeness they shared.

Ken pulled away suddenly, though he didn't seem upset. His eyes traveled downward between them, and when Daisuke realized what he was looking at, a blush exploded on his face. "I-I..." He cringed at the condition his body had ended up in. "I really wasn't... I mean, I wasn't thinking... I... I'm sorry..."

Ken placed a finger over the redhead's mouth to shush him. His eyes held a distant expression before they closed again, and he slipped his tongue back into the redhead's mouth. Daisuke was quite surprised, but didn't ask questions. Instead he just let his eyes close and got back into it. Immediately the slender teen beneath him had his arms wrapped around his neck, so Daisuke laced his fingers back through dark, silky hair.

So many new sensations filled Daisuke's body as unfamiliar hands trailed along his skin. It wasn't as if he'd never dreamed about doing things like this. It's just that he'd never pictured it being another male, or _Ken_ for that matter. It was always a hot girl or something. None of those girls had ever turned him on the way this was managing to though.

Hands ran up and down clothing, below shirts, and over bare skin. Daisuke let his lips trail away from the young man's mouth and down to his neck, earning a light moan in return. Butterflies filled the redhead's chest and stomach, and the blush on his cheeks had yet to fade. It certainly didn't go away when he realized that he'd gotten even more aroused. He had managed to go from firm to fully erect in mere seconds. Embarrassment struck him again, but he didn't pull away this time. Maybe he could keep Ken from noticing that he'd gotten harder...

Unfortunately Ken's legs moved apart without warning, and Daisuke slipped down into his lap further. Their hips pushed together and there was no way to avoid pressing his hardness into Ken.

"I-I'm sorry, I should stop." Daisuke shook his head to try and get his bearings back, the blush even brighter on his face. After that he got up onto his hands and knees so that he at least wouldn't be grinding it down into the other male's lap anymore. This was so embarrassing...

"Dai..." Ken leaned up and reconnected their lips momentarily. "Please..."

Everything else around them became a blur, and the next thing the redhead knew, it was over.

**********Mmm... censorship -_-**********

Daisuke blinked a bit as he sat back up, his eyes meeting with Ken's. It was short lived though, as both of them quickly averted their gaze. Ken was apparently trying to cover the blush on his face with his hair, while the redhead simply looked down at the floor. Now that they were done he could think clearly with his actual brain again. Even after he'd messed things up in the middle, he'd still been 'in the mood', or whatever. The whole, 'yeah this is great now, but what happens later?' realization just didn't cross his mind until... well, 'later'.

Yeah... cool, great, just fucking awesome. This had now managed to become a whole new level of awkward. He honestly had no idea what to say. He didn't know how he felt about what they had just done, what direction he wanted to move in now, whether he regretted it or not, or... anything. Things had already been complicated enough between them without adding sex onto it.

It sure had been fun though, and... he really liked Ken. He supposed it wasn't the sex itself that he was regretting, but more the fact that he was making things harder for both Ken and himself. He honestly hadn't thought there was anything else that could happen to make things more messed up than they already were, but look at that, he'd managed it anyway. Nothing was ever too fucked up that Motomiya Daisuke couldn't somehow make even worse, apparently.

"S-So..." Ken's voice startled Daisuke from his thoughts and he felt himself jump a little. Apparently the other boy had wrapped the blanket around himself at some point, though the redhead hadn't been paying enough attention to notice it."Sorry..."

"No, no, it's okay." Daisuke shook his head, not sure why the other was apologizing. "I was just... thinking." The redhead released a slow sigh. "I, uh, you know... um... I guess, uh, we... um... I mean I just, u-um, and... well..."

Right... Think first, _then_ speak. When an eyebrow rose on Ken's face, he figured the other teen was thinking something along the same lines.

"Yeah... sorry." Daisuke sighed. "I really have no idea what I'm thinking right now."

"Heh..." Ken grinned a bit. "Yeah, I don't really know either-" Ken cut himself off with a pained hiss and his right palm was suddenly on his forehead. A whimper left his lips and then the boy's other palm was on his head as well. He cringed as though something was hurting him.

"Ken?" Daisuke's voice was immediately worried.

"M-My head hurts..." The other teen seemed to be having trouble speaking, as his words were forced and strained. "I-I don't... I don't know why it... nng..." Ken stopped explaining and instead just clutched firmly at his hair.

"Hey..." Daisuke placed his hand on the boy's shoulder gently. "Don't talk anymore, okay? I'll go get you some pain killers." The redhead stood up quickly and made his way into Ken's bathroom. If he didn't have anything in there then he would just go get some of the Ibuprofen from the desk drawer in his bedroom. Not that he should walk outside the room naked when the guards were there... Then again, would they even consider that weird? Digimon didn't have sex, and very few even had clothing.

As Daisuke had been thinking to himself, he had also been looking. After finding some Aleve in the boy's medicine cabinet, he quickly moved his thoughts back to more important matters. After filling a cup with water he went back out into the bedroom. He had expected to go sit with Ken on the bed, but the boy was no longer there. Instead he was lying on the floor, as though he'd passed out. The blanket was still around his waist and his arms were curled up in front of his head.

"Ken!" Daisuke hastily set down the bottle of Aleve and the cup of water on the bedside table and rushed to the other teen's side. What the hell? Had his headache really been so bad that he'd passed out from the pain? "Hey, Ken!" Daisuke didn't raise his voice because he knew that loud sounds made headaches a lot worse most of the time. At least his always did. So he instead spoke quietly with an urgent tone. "Are you okay?"

Just as Daisuke felt his chest tighten up with fear at the lack of response, the unconscious boy sighed in his sleep and rolled onto his back, his right arm now resting on his stomach and his left arm still next to his head. His facial expression was peaceful, and he didn't seem to be in any pain anymore.

Daisuke breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head. Damn it Ken... he'd really scared the shit out of him just now! Well whatever, he seemed fine now at least. What had given him such a sudden headache anyway? Maybe Daisuke was just really bad at sex or something. Yeah, that was probably it. It's not like he was experienced or something, that had been his first time! Apparently his attempt to fix the experience hadn't worked either...

With an exasperated sigh at this whole situation, the redhead picked up the sleeping boy and laid him gently on the bed, fixing the blanket so that it wasn't so tangled around him. It was then that Daisuke was finally able to turn some attention onto himself. He definitely didn't smell good, and many places on his body were sticky. Yeah, he really needed a shower.

Daisuke quickly grabbed his clothes and put them back on his body where they went. Ken would be alright on his own while he washed up, right? Now that the boy was in bed and under the blankets he could sleep and get rid of that headache. Daisuke would come back and check up on him later.

The redhead finished getting dressed and placed his goggles back on his head, which had somehow gotten under the bed. Then, with one last glance back at the other teen, he left the room and ignored the questioning guards, never noticing the red glow on the back of Ken's neck.

* * *

(Author's Note: If you've only read the censored version of this chapter, Daisuke and Ken have sex but Daisuke messes up in the middle and hurts Ken. He manages to fix things after a bit though, and it at least ends well. Anyway, I had a lot of trouble with that scene. I didn't want it to be a perfect experience, because neither Ken nor Daisuke have ever had sex before, and on top of that, neither of them have consciously decided to be gay/bi either. So why would they have any actual knowledge about having sex with another male? They wouldn't, especially not Daisuke. At the same time though, I didn't want to make the experience so terrible that it ended off as a failure. So what I ended up writing was a compromise between the two. I know some people want sex scenes to be perfect and fun, but... that's not really what I was going for.)


	17. Time

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 17: Time

Author's Note: I'll do my best to get chapter 18 done sooner than I've been updating lately. And thank you to Ine-capa for helping me with this chapter as always!

* * *

Hikari played with the D3 unconsciously, more focused on the computer monitor before her than on the device in her hand. It wasn't her own device though, as that was still clipped to the backpack resting at her feet. A blue D3 belonging to a certain captured friend of hers was clutched in her fingers instead, having been given to her by V-Mon. But why had V-Mon been given Daisuke's D3, exactly? He told her that Wormmon had given it to him, but apparently he had no idea why. Nor did he know why Daisuke had kicked only him out of the base. It wasn't normal for Daisuke to do that, but then again, nothing was "normal" anymore.

Where could he be? The Digital World was so large, but if she could just find him somehow then she could figure out what was going on with him. The others seemed convinced that he was still being controlled by Ken, and it wasn't like they didn't have a good reason to think that. The redhead certainly hadn't been himself recently. She just had a gut feeling though, and it was telling her that V-Mon was right about him. There had to be a reason for the little blue Digimon to feel the way he did, and a reason why her friend was choosing to remain in the base of his own free will.

The things V-Mon had said to her before weren't helping anything make sense though. Why, exactly, had he asked her about Humans kissing? That was such a random thing to ask after everything that had been said and done. Was he actually, seriously, trying to imply that Daisuke and Ken had-

"Hikari?"

The child of light was startled from her thoughts as Takeru entered the school's computer room. He had a worried expression on his face from the doorway, and she knew why.

"I'm sorry Takeru." Hikari sighed and hung her head a bit. "I know I don't normally skip class like this, but I just have a feeling."

"A feeling?" Takeru frowned and spoke slowly. "A feeling of what?"

Hikari glanced back at the computer, catching the brooding expression on her face in the monitor's reflection. She wasn't angry, she just knew that explaining it to Takeru would be pointless. He hadn't understood her feelings before, and there was nothing new she could provide to help change his mind now. It wasn't even that he thought it was impossible for Daisuke to be free of Ken's control. He simply believed that there wasn't enough information to prove anything yet, and that she was worrying about it too much. He was probably right.

"I just... feel like I need to do this right now." Hikari looked him in the eyes finally, her face now pleading. "I can't focus on classes at all. I already spent first and second period staring at the clock, thinking about what's going on with Daisuke. I feel like if I look for him, then somehow I'll find him. I know that Koushiro is already looking, but I feel like I have to be the one to look right now." She paused for a moment, a thought occurring to her. "I know it makes no sense and it's not responsible for me to ignore my schoolwork when someone who knows a million times more about the Digital World than me is already searching for him, but... but I at least want to try, even if it's dumb. Maybe if I just _try_ then I can focus on classes again, at the very least."

Yeah, none of that made sense at all, and Takeru would probably just tell her to calm down and go back to class before she-

"Alright." Takeru gave her a soft smile and nodded. Hikari stared at him, unsure if she'd heard him correctly. She had just told him that she had some strange, unexplainable gut feeling that somehow she could do more than Koushiro, which was extremely absurd, and to just leave her be, and he'd actually accepted that?

The girl blinked a bit and then felt a smile of her own cross her face. "Thank you, Takeru." Her words were quiet, but she knew they had reached him. He had put his faith in her, even though it was more likely to have been for nothing. Even she herself realized that, but he'd done it anyway.

"You should believe in your gut feelings more." Takeru replied quickly. "You always feel stupid for listening to them and expect them to be wrong, even after almost all of them have turned out to be right. Apparently I'm the only one who sees it."

Thinking about her friend's words, Hikari realized that he was right about one thing; she did doubt her gut feelings. Even this one, the whole time she'd been embarrassed about it and thought it was all stupid, and that no one would agree. She didn't know if they always came true or not, but... she really should believe in herself more.

"I'll do my best." Hikari smiled brighter and turned back to the computer screen, continuing to search blindly for any new activities from Ken.

"Good, I'm just glad that you're alright. Just so you know though, things like this work best when you really do truly believe in yourself." Before Hikari could reply, Takeru turned and left the room, his footsteps getting quieter and quieter until they were gone entirely. Overpowering her low self esteem wasn't an easy thing for her and Takeru knew it, which was probably why he'd said that in the first place. As a thank you to him for letting her do this, she really would try her best.

Glancing back at the map of the Digital World didn't really encourage her though. She was searching randomly at a map that only showed whether an area was under Ken's control or not, with the hope that somehow, one would change color while she was looking at it. She didn't want to see an area turn black from Ken's domination, but it would at least indicate where he was.

One thing was for sure, she'd more than covered this area now. She probably should try the northern-

When a single black square turned white, Hikari felt her heart freeze in her chest. That... an area was just removed from Ken's control? So someone had knocked down a dark tower? Who was out in the Digital World right now though? Everyone should be in school at this hour, except possibly Mimi, but it was the middle of the night in America so she was surely asleep. Had someone else skipped school too?

What if... what if Daisuke had left Ken and been the one to do that? Maybe he was in a fight of some kind, and V-Mon wasn't there with him to help. It was possible, right? It wasn't likely but... but it _could_ be. It could be!

She needed to get the others! She needed to-

But what if he was in danger? He wouldn't have time to wait for everyone to gather up and go together. He could be in need of help right now. Maybe he was being attacked, and if they waited too long he would-

All of her thinking was wasting time too!

Hikari snatched the D3 off of her backpack, shoved Daisuke's into her pocket, and woke up Tailmon who had been asleep in the corner of the room. She could message the others on Nefertimon while they were flying, and the ones who were willing to leave class could catch up with her. Right now though, she didn't have time to wait for them.

It occurred to her as her body was converted into data and sucked through the computer screen with her yawning Digimon, that had Takeru not come in and interrupted her progress, she would have long ago left that area and never seen that square blink out in the first place.

* * *

Daisuke stared down at the pancakes frying in a large pan, a frown visible on his face. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to concentrate on anything, and today was certainly no exception. It didn't help that he had nothing to do that could pull his mind away from the many dilemmas surrounding him. He could go mess around in his room, sit in the kitchen, walk around the base, but did any of that matter? It was all pointless, and didn't come close to stopping his mind from running away into confusing areas of thought.

It had been two whole days since his last encounter with Ken, and from what he understood, the once-tyrant hadn't left his bedroom since. On top of that, his bedroom guards refused to let Daisuke back into the room to see him. Ken had a replicator and bathroom with him, so it's not like he couldn't survive in there for long periods of time, but... well, Ken just had such a strange way of dealing with things. Strange to Daisuke, anyway.

Attacking problems head on was his one and only philosophy. If it were up to him, he would have just sat down with Ken as soon as possible and talked it over, or whatever they needed to do. Why prolong everything? All of this thinking and musing over it was killing him! But if it's what Ken needed... then he supposed he could try to just get through it.

It was times like these that the goggle boy doubted his decision in making V-Mon leave the base. Yes, he would be safer away from all of this, and no, Daisuke probably wouldn't have been able to explain why he'd chosen to stay here to his partner. Even so, had it really been the right thing to do? He'd acted rashly without much thought. It had felt right at the time, but now he was just lonely. It's not like V-Mon could help him figure out what he was supposed to do about all of this, but he could have at least helped him relax a bit.

Daisuke flipped the pancake before it burned and continued to stare at it. Man, this was still nuts. He'd actually done all of that with Ken. Like... it really _happened_. He hadn't just dreamed it up or found out he'd been having some illness induced delusion or something. Actually, this was the first time he could recall something crazy happening in the base that didn't leave him wondering if it had truly happened afterward. He honestly didn't doubt it's reality in the slightest.

Of course, he'd been going quite out of his way to _not_ think about it for the past two days. Not because he didn't want to confront it, because oddly enough he did. It was really just because he didn't see the point. If he sat and thought about his feelings and what could happen in the future, yada yada, then all he would do was frustrate himself. Without Ken there to discuss it with him, he wouldn't actually get any answers back and none of his thoughts would go anywhere but around in endless circles.

The pancake was finished now, so he picked up the pan and moved it off the heat. However, his finger slid down a bit too far and touched the hot part that connected the handle and pan.

"Ah-Fuck!" Daisuke dropped the pan down onto a cold burner and shook his hand. That was definitely not helping, so he turned the water on cold and put the burnt finger underneath the stream. A long, drawn out sigh escaped his lips and he glared up at the ceiling. See? That wouldn't have happened had he not been thinking too much!

He waited a while for the burning to stop and then shut off the water. The pain crept back up his finger though, refusing to fully go away. So the redhead filled a bowl of cold water and kept his finger in it as soon as it started hurting again, buttering his pancakes and lathering them in syrup. Then he sat down to eat.

He finished the pancakes quickly, tossing the dirty dishes in the sink once he was done. Immediately his finger throbbed again. What he really needed was some burn cream from the infirmary. So he left the kitchen and made his way down the hall. Almost immediately he felt like something wasn't right though. There were a lot more Digimon hurrying along the corridors today, far more than he ever recalled seeing before.

Daisuke looked back behind him as he continued to walk, trying to see if something was going on at the opposite side of the hallway. Nothing stood out though, in any direction that he checked. However, after turning a corner he was pretty sure that someone was very injured in the infirmary. Everyone in the hallway was either entering or leaving the hospital room, but no one simply walked past it.

As he entered the medical room he quickly glanced around, though the burning in his finger kept him quite aware of why he'd gone there in the first place. He grabbed the first aid kit that he knew contained the burn cream packets he desired and pulled one out. He fiddled with it for a bit, trying to tear it open without spurting the crap everywhere.

There appeared to be roughly seven Digimon in the infirmary at all times, and as one left, another entered. It was then that Daisuke really focused on who it was lying in the main medical bed.

The redhead's hands froze and his eyes widened. Immediately he recognized that tangled up hair and those light teal pajamas. He seemed much paler than usual, and his skin looked clammy with some kind of illness. His breaths were coming out in harsh pants and his eyes were clenched shut, seemingly with pain.

"Ken?" Daisuke dropped the still sealed packet onto the floor, his pain forgotten. He shoved Digimon aside and squeezed his way through until he was at the bedside. "Ken! What's wrong, Ken?!"

"Daisuke please don't shout." Wormmon's voice barely made their way into the redhead's ears as the infirmary noises drowned him out. The redhead looked down at the little Digimon, his heart beating frantically in his chest.

"Wormmon what's happening?" Daisuke placed a hand on Ken's forehead, relieved that he at least didn't have a fever. "Why didn't anyone tell me he was sick?!"

"Daisuke..." Wormmon's voice was sad now, and the goggle boy looked down at him to try and see what secrets he held behind those eyes. "He's not sick."

"What...?" He tried to figure out what was being implied here, but really couldn't come up with anything on his own. "Did he get hurt then?"

"Hey!" A sudden, angry voice rang out through the room and all eyes turned to the Gorimon guard that had just walked into the infirmary. His eyes were focused on Daisuke, and they were filled with rage. "Why is _he_ in here?! Get that filthy traitor _out_!"

"... _Excuse_ me?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow, immediately pissed off. "What the fuck's your prob-"

"Stop it Gorimon." Wormmon stepped into the middle of the room, seemingly to try and prevent any kind of physical confrontation. Daisuke wasn't going to say it, but he really doubted that Wormmon could stop that Gorimon from kicking Daisuke's ass if it wanted to. "I already told you to lay off Daisuke and get back to your post."

"This is all _his_ fault! He-!" The Gorimon began raging, but was cut off by Wormmon before he finished.

"I, _said_, get _back_, to your _post_! Or when Ken wakes up I'll tell him about your refusal to follow my instructions!"

The Gorimon growled and stormed away from the doorway, back into the hall. Daisuke blinked, no idea what was going on. Why was it that at all times, someone had to be extremely pissed off at him?

"I'm sorry about that Daisuke..." Wormmon sighed and looked back up at him. "I don't like to use that tone of voice, but you just _have to_ with those Gorimon sometimes..."

"What the hell did I do now?!" Daisuke threw his arms up in the air, looking back over at Ken. "And you still haven't told me what's wrong with him!"

"Everyone please leave!" Wormmon hollered into the room. The other Digimon nodded obediently and left the room in single file, shutting the door quietly behind them.

It was strange how the room had gone from loud and filled with chatter, to now completely silent with the exception of the occasional beep from the medical machinery. At least the other slaves had listened to Wormmon and didn't get in his face, like that Gorimon had just done...

"Alright, I'll get straight to the point." Wormmon sighed and looked over at Ken. "Ken was asleep after you left his room a few nights ago. He didn't leave for a while after that and the guards and I became concerned for his health. He wouldn't open the door when we knocked, and every time we peeked inside he was still asleep. That was two days ago, he hasn't woken up since, and about six hours ago he started looking very ill as I'm sure you've observed."

Daisuke felt his blood run cold, his eyes widening.

"As for the Gorimon..." Wormmon sighed. "The guards just think you hurt him somehow and I've been doing everything I can to keep them from throwing you in the dungeons again. What _did_ you and Ken do in there two days ago though?"

"U-Uh... we uh..." Daisuke felt his head swim. How the hell was he supposed to answer that question?! "It doesn't matter, look, we need to-"

"Daisuke please tell me!" Wormmon's voice was frantic and loud, which caused the redhead to jump a bit. "Ken's life is at stake here, and if you know something that could help us save him then don't let your pride get in the way!"

"I don't even know how to explain it to you!" Daisuke threw his arms up in aggravation. "Look we... we kissed okay? That's what we did, we just did it _a lot_. And we watched movies and shit like that." No way was he going to try and explain what sex was and why they had done it to a Digimon with no concept of sexual reproduction. They didn't have time for that, and kissing was close enough.

"That's all you guys did?" Tears filled the little Digimon's eyes and his voice became shaky. " It's been two days now... I... I don't know what else to do for Ken... nothing is helping... and I... I just thought maybe you had an idea or... or at least..."

Daisuke felt the anger drain from his body and he leaned down to hug the Digimon, patting him on the head. "Thank you for helping me with the Gorimon Wormmon. We'll figure out what to do somehow, okay?"

"It's the spore..." Wormmon's voice turned angry suddenly. "That horrible thing is what's doing this. Something kicked it in. Go look at his neck!"

Daisuke felt the ice come back to his blood. Something kicked it in... that had probably been him, after what they'd done together.

The redhead walked over to the bed again, letting his hands wrap around the fragile boy's fingers. The other teen looked as though every ounce of his health and energy was slowly being drained from him, until nothing would remain. In fact, that's probably what the damned spore was doing. Daisuke sat him up a bit and looked at his neck. He nearly recoiled when he saw a bright red glow radiating from beneath the skin.

His fingers slid over the spot on his neck and he came to discover that it was quite hot to the touch. Was it overheating or something? Was it draining Ken's energy so fiercely that it was actually getting hot in the process of doing so? How long until Ken couldn't hold on anymore?

He let his knees buckle as he sat on his heels, his forehead resting against the side of the mattress with his hands still holding Ken's. He didn't know what to do either, he was no doctor. Fuck, he could barely get rid of a simple cold when he got one, let alone something this complicated! "I don't know what to do either Wormmon..."

Desperation filled his chest and his arms shook from the effort it took not to cry. He just felt so useless. He'd done everything he could to help Ken, but even so he still failed. In fact, it seemed as though he'd been the one to make it worse! What was he supposed to do now?!

He was such an idiot. He'd stayed in this damned base to save him, and now look what he had done? First he'd made V-Mon leave the base for some stupid reason and now he'd apparently put Ken in his death bed. His whole purpose was shattered. And yet Wormmon still seemed to have faith in him. Why though? He wasn't smart or skilled in any of the things that mattered, and the only ones who were, were Koushiro and-

"Andromon!" Daisuke stood suddenly, the empty feeling in his chest immediately filling with hope.

"Andromon already told me everything he wants to do." Wormmon scowled as he spoke. "I'm not going to let him electrocute Ken in a vain hope that he'll-"

"No, no!" the redhead interrupted him quickly. "He told me about another Andromon that might know what to do! Wormmon I need an Airdramon!"

"Another Andromon?" Wormmon blinked the tears out of his eyes and shook his head. "Why didn't anyone tell me that? And why haven't you gone to see him yet?"

"Ken got really upset when I told him I wanted to leave..." Daisuke sighed and looked back down at him. "I wanted to wait until I could ask him again and make sure he was okay with it first, but I guess that's not an option anymore."

"I'll get a flying squad ready for you." The little green Digimon quickly made his way to the door. "You go to the north docking bay and I'll get the nurses back in here to watch over Ken."

"Alright!" Daisuke nodded and let the little green Digimon leave the room, though he did not immediately follow. He looked down at Ken and had to fight back tears. "I'll be back, okay Ken? I promise... somehow I'm going to fix this. Just don't die okay?" He left a gentle kiss on the boy's forehead and squeezed his hand. "You can't die... I'll be back!" With a determined nod he followed after Wormmon, stopping only to grab the burn cream packet up off the floor first.

* * *

The Child of Light sighed at the sight before her. For the very first time she actually felt disappointed to discover a dark tower shattered upon ground. Well, to be more accurate, she was disappointed to _only_ find a dark tower shattered upon the ground. There were no signs of Daisuke or Ken, or even whether it had been one of them to do this in the first place.

"What now Hikari?" Nefertimon asked from behind her, seeming to sense her distress.

"I don't know..." Hikari's voice sounded just as sad as she felt, and she didn't bother trying to hide it from her partner. What was the point? A Digimon always knew. "I checked the map and no other towers have fallen, so I have no idea where to go now. Whoever did this could have gone in any direction."

"We could always..." Nefertimon began but trailed off, looking around her. "I hear something."

Hikari looked at her partner and then listened carefully. At first she heard nothing, but eventually the sounds of bushes rustling nearby caught her attention. It was so quiet that it would have gone unheard, had they not gotten silent. She looked around, soon enough spotting movement.

Nefertimon allowed herself to power down into Tailmon, and then took off like a dart into the tall forest grass. Hikari followed quickly behind her.

"NO!" An unfamiliar shriek filled the woods.

"Calm down!" Tailmon's voice quickly followed, as well as a shushing sound. When Hikari found her partner, she also found a very frightened seeming Punimon. Tailmon was kneeling down beside it, patting its head. "I won't hurt you, relax. What's wrong?"

"I thought you were one of the Kaiser's slaves..." The Punimon seemed to indeed calm at the sight of Hikari, who was kneeling down as well now.

"You saw Ken's slaves?" The Child of Light was both happy and sad to hear of this. Happy because now she knew for sure that Ken or Daisuke had been here, if not both of them, but also sad because it could mean that Daisuke was still being controlled.

"Yeah..." The Punimon looked up at her. "There were a bunch of Airdramon and Unimon, and they shot down the dark tower. I didn't have a dark ring on but I was happy to see it fall. I really don't know why they would shoot down their own tower though..."

"Where did they go?" Hikari frowned, also not sure why the Kaiser's slaves had been ordered to attack their master's own dark tower. Unless Daisuke really wasn't enslaved anymore and had been the one to do it. She truly hoped that were the case.

"I dunno, but they seemed to be going towards Andromon's city in the desert."

"Thank you!" Hikari smiled at the Punimon and then nodded to Tailmon, who quickly evolved back into Nefertimon now that she wasn't trying to be fast on the ground. The Child of Light climbed on top of her partner and they set off once again. She didn't know exactly who she was following, but she wouldn't give up until she found out.

* * *

Daisuke held his hand over his face to shield it from the sun, his air squad flying next to him. Wormmon had given him five Airdramon and five Unimon, all with evil spirals on instead of their normal dark rings so that they wouldn't need towers to control them. Andromon's city wouldn't have one there anymore, after all. He didn't know for sure that he'd need to take them in there with him, but just in case it was better to be safe than sorry. Wormmon had also given him an emergency signal button that looked like a car alarm you'd put on a keychain. Apparently it would call the squad to his location via some kind of tracking device.

Daisuke had told Wormmon before he left to tell the boy that he swore on his goggles he'd come back. In fact, he'd given his goggles to the Digimon to prove his point, just in case Ken woke up while he was gone. He didn't want the boy to panic so hopefully his gesture would help. He also hoped that Ken wouldn't get upset that he'd decided to knock down a dark tower he'd passed in a forest. It was his duty as a Chosen, after all. He doubted that Ken would mind, because he really wasn't the tyrant he used to be anymore. But just in case... he probably wouldn't mention it when he returned.

The redhead looked down at the dome city now below them as the group hovered in place. It occurred to him that the Guardromon would probably not respond well to him walking in with an army of clearly enslaved Digimon. He knew from his previous experience that it would be very difficult to fight off that many Guardromon, even with a group of ten. He could try to go in alone with the spore information disk and give it to Andromon he supposed, but what if they figured him out somehow and tried to capture him? Could he possibly lure him outside the city where his squad could surround him? In order to do that though he would still have to go into the city alone, which made it kind of pointless. If he actually made it all the way to Andromon then they probably weren't suspicious of him.

No matter what he did there was a high chance of danger. Between all of his chances, he would rather risk himself than end up in a fight with the Guardromon and mess up their city again. If anyone tried to capture him, he could try threatening to push the emergency button in response. And hey, worst case scenario, he actually _could_ push the emergency button.

"Land down there, by the doors." Daisuke commanded the group, who did as told and the redhead jumped down onto the sand. "Now all of you stay out of sight, don't go back up into the sky. I don't want anyone to see you and get suspicious of me."

"Understood." The main Airdramon nodded and the group split up, hiding behind various hills in the desert. So, with a deep breath for reassurance, Daisuke walked through the doors and into the city.

Everything was as he recalled it, minus the crazed Guardromon. They were bustling about now, some fixing things while others hurried off to do... well, whatever it was a Guardromon did when it wasn't enslaved. The real problem was what the heck an Andromon would do in that situation. This city was massive and there was no way he was going to just wander about until he got lucky and found him.

Daisuke looked about until he found the nearest Guardromon, jogging over to it. "Hey!" His voice was as friendly as he could manage. "I'm Daisuke. I helped free you guys from the Kaiser, remember?"

The Guardromon looked at him for a moment before speaking. "Yes, I do recall now. You are Motomiya Daisuke."

"Yeah!" Daisuke smiled, happy to get off to a good start. "Hey so, where's Andromon at? I kinda need him."

The Guardromon simply pointed and the redhead turned around to see what he was referring to. His eyes immediately caught the largest tower in the city, which appeared to be located right in the center. "That big tower over there?" He figured he'd ask though, just to be sure.

"Yes."

"Thanks!"

Daisuke took off and made his way through the concrete city streets. He wondered if any other Digimon besides Guardromon lived here. So many tall buildings filled the dome city as though thousands of Digimon resided, and yet all he ever saw were rows of Guardromon lining the streets. Maybe it was a robotic-Digimon-only place? In that case though, why would none of the other robotic Digimon come outside?

Daisuke never did see a non-Guardromon Digimon anywhere along his route, and before he knew it he was standing before the largest building. He walked inside and saw only elevators and stairs up to higher floors. Beside each of the two main building doors was a Guardromon, and all along the walls were more Guardromon. There seemed to be about twenty in total. It was... quite intimidating, actually.

"Hey." He turned to one of the guards next to the front doors. "Where can I find Andromon?"

"In the basement." The guard answered and pointed to a door. "You won't be able to get down there without clearance though. You're Motomiya Daisuke, is that correct?"

"Yeah I'm Daisuke. Look, I just need to see Andromon for-"

"Clearance accepted." The Guardromon cut him off and left his spot near the door, Daisuke blinking as he watched after him. The Digimon walked over to the basement doorway and pressed many buttons on a number pad next to it that the redhead had not seen before. Eventually the door swung open a tiny bit, and the Guardromon pushed it open the rest of the way. "You may proceed."

"Uh... thanks." Daisuke nodded slowly and then made his way down the staircase just behind the door. Apparently they _all_ remembered him...

The redhead quickly made his way down the stairs until he entered an artificially lit room. It was round and quite large, with tons of computers and strange machinery lining the walls. In a way it kind of reminded him of the control room in the base.

Andromon was indeed alone in this strange round room, working at the various computers. He turned to look at him as he entered, pressing a button on a keyboard at the same time.

"Motomiya Daisuke." Andromon's voice was void of emotion just like the other one from the base, though that didn't surprise him in the slightest. What did surprise him, was the thick sheet of metal suddenly sliding down from the ceiling in the doorway, effectively closing off his escape route. His hand reflexively shot into his pocket and clutched the emergency button.

Daisuke felt nerves fill his chest. Had he messed up somehow? Did he say something that tipped someone off to his true intentions? He wasn't the best at being graceful or having tact with his words, so it wouldn't surprise him if that were so. He couldn't afford to get captured, because being delivered to the Chosen was ironically was _not_ what he wanted right now.

"Why have you come here?" Andromon spoke up and turned away from his computer screen. "Did you think I would not know of your Bio Ring?"

Fuck, the Bio Ring! After all the things he'd done for Ken while under its influence, of _course_ it had become known around the Digital World! Why hadn't he thought of this _before_ he'd come down here? This was probably why people like Takeru and Taichi were Chosen; to do the thinking for people like him so that he didn't lead them into, well, situations like these.

"I saw you enter the city on the security cameras." Andromon continued when Daisuke didn't reply right away. "I had been informed of a Bio Ring around your neck by many sources, but saw no such thing on you as you arrived. In addition, you did not seem to be that of an emotionless slave. Humans have always contained a very high level of emotions compared to other creatures, and you specifically are one with far more than average, from what I have observed. I can see that emotion in you even now. That is why I chose not to sound an alarm, and to merely observe you."

Andromon walked towards him a bit, and Daisuke backed up without meaning to. "You do not seem to be an enemy, but you have not yet redeemed yourself back to that of an ally." When Andromon stopped, he was in the middle of the room. "So what, then, should I consider you?"

"I'm not an enemy." Daisuke answered honestly, keeping his hand in his pocket. "But you're right, I'm not really an ally yet either."

"Then what purpose would someone neither friend nor enemy have here, in this city?" Andromon moved closer toward him, and before he'd even registered that he'd done so, Daisuke had pulled the emergency button out of his pocket and held it up.

"Get back to the center of the room." Daisuke demanded, trying to keep his voice unwavering as best he could. "If I push this, a large squad of Ken's slaves will come to protect me. I don't want to hurt anyone or destroying anything, but that'll probably happen if they come into the city."

"Your actions do not persuade me to trust you." Andromon stated, his voice remaining firm.

"I know." Daisuke sighed. "But I just can't afford to get sent back to the Chosen or held captive right now. I need help, and if I don't get it then a good person is going to die. Andromon please help me... I'm not even asking you to do it for me."

"Then who is it for?"

Daisuke felt his breath catch in his throat a bit, and his sudden reservation to speak seemed to answer the robot's question for him.

"I will do nothing to protect or help the Kaiser."

"But it's not his fault!" Daisuke felt the desperation explode from within his chest. "He has this stupid thing in his neck that's fucking with his head and making him evil, and now that he's managed to get a grip over himself, it's just trying to _kill him_ instead! You said you could tell I'm not being controlled by the Bio Ring, right?! Well that's only because of Ken; _he_ took it off me! He's a good person and if you don't ever give him a chance to do good then how can he ever redeem himself?!"

"I believe fully that you are not controlled." Andromon spoke immediately after the redhead had finished. "The emotion you display makes that clear. However, that does not prove your words to be true. Ken is manipulative and plays terrible games with others, and is most likely tricking-"

"There was another Andromon in the base!" Daisuke cut him off this time. "He's been inspecting the spore in his neck for a while now and he made this disk for you." He held up the small plastic disk for the Digimon to see. "It has all the information about the spore, straight from him!"

"He is a slave of the Kaiser." Andromon shook his head. "His information cannot be trusted or-"

"Damn it Andromon!" Daisuke clenched his fists, the one holding the emergency button getting dangerously close to pushing it. " You haven't even _looked _at it!"

The redhead shook his head and took deep breaths, managing to calm down slowly. No... no, no, no... he couldn't do it like this. Andromon would never look at that disk if he just yelled at him. He needed to prove that he wasn't lying and that the disk wasn't just full of bullshit somehow. Threats and demands only showed that he was on Ken's side. There was only one way he was going to get the robot to trust him, and it was a huge gamble, but it really was his only choice now.

"Andromon... Please." He let the emergency button slip from his hand and clatter to the floor, kicking it away from himself and over to Andromon. The robot's eyes seemed to widen a bit in surprise.

"I have nothing now." Daisuke's voice shook with emotions. "No way to defend myself, no way to stop you from just capturing me. I can't force you, I can't threaten you... all I can do is beg." The redhead dropped to his knees and lowered his head. "Please, _please_ just look at it..."

Andromon was silent, the redhead unable to see his face from his position. He could be doing anything really, though he didn't hear him move at all. His arms shook with desperation and his eyes clenched shut. This really could be it... if the robot still didn't believe him and captured him, then Wormmon and the other Andromon in the base were on their own with Ken. But maybe even in that case he could somehow convince the other Chosen to-

"Your actions harm your survival." Andromon finally replied. "You are now at my disposal. You do this for Ken's benefit? This behavior is strange and does not make sense." Daisuke felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. "However." The robot continued. "Seeing such anxiety in you over this disk, I have decided to look at it."

"Y-You will?!" Daisuke stood immediately, hope filling his chest. "Seriously?!"

"I am always serious." Andromon reached a hand out, and Daisuke placed the disk into it. The robot walked over to a small machine on the other side of the room and slid the disk into it. "I am checking for any harmful software in the disk before I read it." Andromon informed him. "Regardless of the other Andromon's desire to save his master, I do not trust any files from him without initial inspection."

Daisuke waited a bit, not caring what it took to get him to look at the disk. At least, as long as it wasn't going to take a really long time...

Andromon pulled the disk out of the machine, and a slot for the disk to fit into opened up in the robot's chest. "The inspection came out clear." Andromon informed him and then slid the disk into his body. He lowered his arms to his sides and stood still after that, Daisuke waiting with baited breath.

In all honesty he probably only waited about a minute, but it felt much longer. Then Andromon's eyes blinked open and he removed the disk, handing it back. Daisuke took it and placed it into his pocket. Andromon seemed to think for a moment before he spoke.

"I have read the information." His reply was so simple. "I do not understand what you wish me to do with it though. This spore's influence over Ken does not change the fact that he is threatening to destroy our world."

"I just need a better solution to save him. The other Andromon wants to-"

"I know of his solutions." Andromon cut him off. "They were included in the disk."

"Then you should know that they all really suck! I mean fuck, he wants to-"

"They are all logical."

"... Excuse me?" Daisuke glared at the robot, clenching his fists in anger. "How are such terrible chances of success _good_?!"

"I did not say they were good." Andromon's voice was steady and unemotional, as always. His eyes remained firm. "I said they were logical. He thought of everything that could be done to handle the defective spore, all of their possible outcomes, and concluded that the electric shock contained the highest percentage of success."

No way... no fucking way had he come all the way here just to be told that there wasn't a better solution. He wouldn't just accept this and walk away! But what the hell could he do now? He had given up his emergency caller in desperation for another solution, and had gotten nothing. His gesture had been worthless and now he was trapped in this room with nowhere to go. If he couldn't get back to Ken...

Daisuke gripped at his hair, clenching his eyes shut. He needed to think... just, think... calm down and figure out what to do. It was never too late! There was always a way out, but if he panicked then he'd never find it! Maybe... maybe if he could just-

"You seem very distressed." Andromon expressed. "Why do you become so emotionally compromised over someone like Ken?"

"You haven't seen the real Ken that's there underneath the Kaiser like I have." Daisuke looked up at the robot and answered in a quiet voice, still trying to think of a way out while he spoke. "He's a Chosen Child, he's supposed to be fighting with us. But that fucking spore ruined that, and I'm going to find a way to fix it even without your help."

"There is one thing I can do for you." Andromon walked over to one of the machines in the room and began pulling out various parts. He seemed to be building something, though the redhead had no idea what it was.

Andromon finished the device quickly enough and then held it up for him to see. It looked like... well, like his emergency button honestly. It was just a long piece of black plastic with a button on it.

"If you decide to try the shock method, I suggest using this." Andromon explained. "Touch the long end to the back of Ken's neck and press that button. It will send a weak enough electric shock to ignore the iron in Ken's blood and only be attracted to the metal properties of the spore. Therefore it will not harm his body in any way, and will leave your percentages to merely that of what the spore itself does upon receiving the shock."

Daisuke sighed, not wanting to accept this. He didn't want to shock Ken at all, but he realized that there wasn't much he could do. Andromon clearly didn't have any other ideas and this was an improvement... a small, shitty one, but an improvement regardless. At least he could know that Ken wouldn't just get electrocuted in the process and have the spore never even get hit. Andromon had truly tried his best.

"Now." Andromon closed his hand around the shock device that he had just made, without handing it to him. After that he reached down and picked up the emergency call that Daisuke had thrown to the floor. "I must take you to the Chosen."

"W-What?!" The redhead felt his blood heat up with frustration and confusion. "But... but you just helped me! I need to take that back to Ken so I can-!"

"The Airdramon and Unimon outside the city will more than suffice to deliver it to the Andromon in the base. He will use it, as it is in his master's best interest to do so, that I am positive of. However I cannot allow a Chosen like yourself to continue being enslaved."

"No! He's not holding me there!" Daiuske's voice shook with desperation, fear clutching at his chest. "He even told me to leave but I wouldn't! It was my choice to stay, and he said I could go back to the others anytime I want. I can't leave yet!"

"Even so, your best interests do not lie in the base. I am sorry Daisuke, but this is for your own good."

Andromon suddenly lunged at Daisuke, and before he'd registered what was happening, it was too late to make an escape attempt. The robot's arm had wrapped firmly around his wrist. The redhead struggled madly against his captor, kicking and yanking. He knew it wasn't going to work even while he tried it, but desperation had overcome him.

Andromon pulled him over to the keyboard and began pushing buttons on it, most likely alerting the Chosen somehow. No... he couldn't get caught now! He had to overpower him somehow! He dug around in his pockets for something he could stab the android with, even a fucking _pen_ if he had to! All he managed to find was some pocket lint and some weird disk that he didn't realize was in these pants-

Daisuke pulled the memory eraser disk out of his pocket that he'd completely forgotten about, having idly grabbed it along with the information disk without thinking, right before he'd left. Then as quickly as he could, he shoved it into the same slot on the robot's chest that the other disk had gone into. Andromon gasped and shuddered, releasing his arm in response.

Daisuke backed away from him. The robot's eyes rolled back as spasms shot through his mechanical form, the objects in his other hand clattering to the floor. Small sparks flew from his chest and a pained groan filled the room. Andromon held his head for a moment, and then all at once he froze.

Daisuke stared with wide eyes at him. The robot was still holding his head, though his whole body was unmoving. His eyes were open but he didn't seem to actually be looking at anything.

The redhead snapped out of his daze and ran over to pick up both the emergency caller and shocker off the floor, shoving them quickly into his pocket. Should he remove the disk from Andromon? No, that might wake him up. He... he could uh... just leave it there. But what if it damaged him to not take it out? Fuck... he'd have to tell one of the Guardromon to help him. But then they'd know something was up... agh he didn't have time for this!

Running over to the keyboard that Andromon had used before, he pressed random buttons until the metal door slid back up into the ceiling. He would just act like nothing happened, leave the city, and then tell the city door guards that Andromon demanded to see them personally. He'd say he didn't know why, but that's just how it was. They could go help him and he'd have already left.

Okay, he had to leave, now! No more thinking!

Daisuke turned back towards the door, but stopped dead in his tracks. His breath caught in his throat and his blood ran cold. A figure stood in the doorway, looking at him and walking slowly into the room. He knew this person immediately...

"H-Hikari..." Daisuke whispered.

Suddenly realization struck him like a knife to the gut... Hikari. _Hikari_; the girl he _loved_. The one he had sworn to save himself for, and even though he'd had another girl try to sleep with him once a year ago, he'd never allowed it to happen. He'd thought of Hikari and then walked away from the opportunity. And yet he'd slept with Ken without even a single thought of her, not before or after. Even _Days_ after it happened he _still_ hadn't thought of her, until she stood face to face with him now.

The redhead covered his mouth with his left hand, tears filling his eyes. He had betrayed her. No... not exactly, it wasn't her he'd harmed. She had yet to return his feelings and they certainly weren't together by any means. It was _himself_ that he had betrayed.

However, in the back of his mind he couldn't ignore the fact that even with all these things considered... he didn't regret what he'd done with Ken. He regretted ruining his dream of sharing his first time with Hikari, but not that Ken had been the one to replace it.

Why?! Why didn't he regret it?! He should hate, no, _despise_ himself for what he'd done! He should scream and rage, and punch Ken for taking this away from him! He should want to just leave him to rot in the base and go be with the Chosen again, with _Hikari_ again. But he didn't... he _couldn't_! WHY?!

Daisuke was overwhelmed. He was furious as well as grieving. He backed away from the girl, unable to look at her or at the dream he'd forever ruined.

The Child of Light had at first seemed overjoyed to see him, bursting with a hopeful energy. Her eyes had filled with happy tears and her movements indicated at attempt to hug him. However, once her eyes met the frozen Andromon in the room, her emotions changed. Daisuke wasn't sure what Hikari was thinking or feeling anymore as she walked towards him, Tailmon remaining in the doorway. The girl's eyes seemed to search his very soul for something.

Daisuke snapped out of his daze and once again he found himself holding up the emergency signal button in distress. However, this time he couldn't find the words to issue a threat.

"Is that really you Daisuke?" Hikari's face darkened as she walked closer still, Daisuke backing up even more as she did so. She didn't seem to pay any attention to what he held in his hand. "You'd think someone who just spent months in captivity would be overjoyed to see a _friend_ and _ally_ in front of him. And yet you shake at the sight of me, as though I'm something horrible to look upon."

Daisuke wanted to scream no, that he could never be horrified to look at her, but no sound left his throat when he tried.

"And Andromon!" Once happy tears fell from her eyes in sadness as she pointed at the still frozen Digimon. "My dear friend... you _hurt_ him! Why?! What did you do to him?!" Her voice had now reached near hysterics. "Why won't you _say anything_?! Did... did Ken really damage your mind like the others think..? You're really still a slave, aren't you?"

"No!" Daisuke finally found his words, when Ken's defense came into the picture. "No Hikari, this was my choice! Ken tried to get me to leave the base but I refused!"

"A lingering influence of the spore, then?"

"Damn it Hikari, _no_!" Daisuke clutched the emergency caller in his hand tightly, frustration filling his chest. In just a few seconds he'd gone from feeling guilty for failing her, to now feeling angry _at_ her over Ken. "Can't you tell it's me right now?! If I don't do something to protect Ken then he's going to die! Maybe you can't understand why I'd care, but that's just because you don't know-!"

The redhead froze as the girl suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Her shoulders shook, and he felt her tears wet the collar of his shirt. His tense arms loosened and he lowered the emergency button. With a sigh, he hugged her back and closed his eyes tightly.

"It really is you..." Hikari's words were smothered through his shirt, and Daisuke almost laughed at the irony of this situation. Not long ago he would have dreamed for something like this, to be hugged by Hikari of her own initiation. And yet here he was, doing that exact thing, and he felt nothing from it. He didn't get the rush of hormones and emotions that he always got when he was around her, even when this physically close to her.

God he missed her... no matter what kind of complications his actions had created, he'd never once stopped missing her or any of the others. Above all though, she was one of the best friends anyone could have, and deserved so much better than all of this drama.

"Don't worry about Andromon." Daisuke said as he glanced over at the Digimon, his arms still around her shoulders. "I just kinda... rebooted him I guess. Once that disk is pulled out he'll wake back up. He won't remember much... but he'll be fine. I _promise_ he'll be fine, I didn't hurt him. I just had to get away from him before he captured me."

Hikari pulled away and wiped her eyes, looking at Andromon for a bit. Then she turned back to Daisuke. "V-Mon said that you chose to stay of your own free will, but I was the only one who believed him. I bet he'd smile for days if he were here to see that he was right."

Daisuke smiled and chuckled a bit, happy to see a small smile on her face, and happy to think about V-Mon. "I want you to know something Hikari." Daisuke spoke when a thought occurred to him. "Ken was the one who took the Bio Ring off of me. He regretted it so much that he actually removed it. Well.. _ripped it off_ is more like it... jackass." The redhead shook his head and chuckled a bit at the memory.

"You talk about him in a way that someone would talk about a good friend." Hikari's eyes narrowed a bit, but not with anger. It was more of a confusion that settled on her face.

"He _is_ a good friend." Daisuke tried to find the right words to use. "He's a really, _really_ fucking _complicated_ friend and makes my head want to explode most of the time... but he's still a friend."

"Come back with me Daisuke." Hikari's eyes seemed to light back up at the mere thought. "We can figure out how to help Ken later, once we've-"

"No." His answer was easy and left his lips immediately. No one, not even _Hikari_, would stop him from going back to the base.

"Why?!" Desperation filled the Child of Light's voice, and Daisuke cringed at the sound. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than he already had... "Surely someone else in the base can help him! Wormmon, or any of his hundreds of slaves, or... or someone! You don't deserve to be his prisoner and deal with all of this, all by yourself anymore!"

"No." He repeated, shaking his head this time. "They can't help him the way I can, and even if they could, I promised Ken I would come back. That promise means more to me than-"

"More than me and the other Chosen?!"

"Yes." Daisuke's words remained firm, even while having to say something as difficult as that. He didn't want to have to say it so bluntly, in such a way that it would probably break the girl's heart to hear it... but he couldn't lie. She hadn't really given him the ability to do so even if he'd wanted to anyway.

Hikari took a step back, shocked sadness spreading across her face. Daisuke stood his ground though. Seeing her like that, a part of him wanted to just give in and agree to whatever she wanted, but this time... this time he couldn't.

So many times he had allowed himself to do something that he didn't believe in just to please her, because he loved her. He always wanted her approval and to impress her, but right now he didn't care about that. This was the first time he'd stood firm and opposed her. It felt strange to have something he believed in so much that he could look her square in the eye and say no, without even the slightest quiver in his voice.

Just how many times had he blindly followed her when he hadn't agreed, though? He didn't think he could count all of the occasions anymore. Was that why she seemed so taken aback by his words now? Because he wasn't caving in to her as he'd done in the past? Maybe it had startled her. Honestly, it had even startled him...

"I... I just can't bring myself to let you go back there!" Hikari shook her head and closed her eyes. Hearing her words, the redhead felt his finger press the emergency caller finally. She wasn't going to let him go, and he couldn't afford to spend any more time with this. He would just have to leave the hard way, which was unfortunate. "Everyone misses you. Your parents, the others... they need to see that you're okay!"

"You can tell them for me." Daisuke smiled and waited, watching the security screen in the corner of his eyes. Hikari couldn't see it because it was behind her, but he could. The squad had burst in through the doors and were making their way to him.

"You really won't come?" Hikari wiped more tears from her eyes. "You truly have to stay with Ken?"

Before Daisuke could reply, a loud crash sounded at the top of the stairs where the door was burst through, alarms going off outside and Guardromon firing wildly. Hikari gasped and Tailmon evolved into Nefertimon to protect her partner.

When three Unimon and two Airdramon entered the small circular room together, the other five slaves appearing to be fighting with the Guardromon upstairs, Hikari backed up against the wall.

"I'm sorry." Daisuke looked her in the eye when he apologized before climbing on top of one of the two Airdramon. He hoped she could tell how sincere he was being. Once on the Digimon's back, he looked back down at her and gave a bright smile. "But just trust me while I'm gone!"

"Daisuke!" Hikari gasped and she seemed to think of something else to say to him. "Wait, don't leave yet! Please, at least take this!"

Daisuke's eyes widened in surprise when the girl held his blue D3 out to him. Was that... was that really what he thought it was? V-Mon must have given it to her for some reason. Ken still had his D-Terminal but his D3 had been given to V-Mon by Wormmon, right before he'd made him leave.

"If you take this," Hikari explained as she reached up and placed it into his hand, the Airdramon still at ground level. "Then we'll be able to find you when you're ready to come back. It's turned off right now so no one can find your signal. I can see that you feel strongly about what you're doing... but Daisuke, if something happens and you need us, anything at all, then promise me you'll call okay?"

Daisuke nodded in agreement and placed the long missed device into his pocket. Just before he ordered the Airdramon to take off though, the girl spoke one last time.

"Did you kiss him, Daisuke? Was that what V-Mon was trying to ask me?"

Daisuke looked at her but didn't reply. That was a question for another time, when he actually _had_ any time to explain. When their eyes met, she seemed to be trying to find the answer she sought all on her own. Whether she managed to find it, he didn't know. "I'll be back with you guys soon Hikari, I promise!"

And with that, the group flew up the staircase and back through the lobby of the tall, central building where Andromon had worked. Alarms echoed loudly through the city streets and a spray of missiles filled the sky. Without too much damage to his squad, Daisuke made it through the now shattered double doors and back towards the base where he had more important matters to attend to.


	18. Fading

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 18: Fading

Author's Note: Believe it or not, I actually worked my ass off on this chapter and it still took me a month to finish. It was just really hard to write for some reason. Anyway, thanks to Ine-capa for helping me with it! Would have taken way longer otherwise...

Chapter Note: I just wanted to bring up the D-Terminals for a moment, because they will be used in this chapter. Many Digimon fans think that they're some kind of texting device that the Digital World gave to the Chosen only, but that's not actually what they are. They're really just hand held email devices from the Real World, which is why Taichi randomly had one in the first episode. They're not from the Digital World, they're from the Real World, and most of the kids have one (like Cell Phones today). The only thing the Digital World did was alter them to hold Digimentals. I just wanted to clarify that because I've known quite a few Digimon fans that were confused about this.

* * *

The base was unusually quiet upon Daisuke's return. Considering the condition Ken had been in when he'd left, he would have expected there to be much more activity in the hallways than this. He hadn't made it far from the docking room yet, but even in there it had been bustling with activity prior to his departure. Had something happened while he was gone? Maybe Ken had woken up and the base calmed down because of it? He sure hoped that were the case. Of course, with that possibility came the chance of Ken being quite upset with him for having left in the first place.

The redhead quickly made his way down the hall, checking for slaves along the way. Maybe one of them could tell him how Ken was doing, or at least if he was still in the infirmary or not. However, the further he walked the less likely it was seeming that he'd encounter anyone.

Eventually he reached his destination, not passing anyone along the way. He walked inside and looked around. Ken was still laying unconscious in the medical bed, his skin even more sickly and pale than before. Apparently it had been working overtime on sucking the life out of the other boy in his absence.

Before Daisuke could even curse the evil device, the sight of his goggles clutched tightly in the other teen's hands caught his eye. A soft smile spread across his face.

"He called out for you in his sleep." Wormmon's voice was quiet, but seemed louder in the silent infirmary room. "I told him you promised on your goggles to come back. I didn't know if he heard me so I tried giving them to him. He's been clutching them ever since."

Daisuke smiled wider and walked over to the side of the bed. When he'd been face to face with Hikari before, he'd felt bad for not returning with her. It hadn't been his intention to worry his friends and family even more than he already had, but his decision had caused that outcome all the same. However, the sight of Ken clutching so firmly to his promise to return melted away all of his regrets. He hadn't made the easy decision, but he had definitely made the right one.

"How's he doing?" Daisuke asked the only one in the infirmary with him.

"He's very out of it." Wormmon answered nervously. "He's been mumbling things but I can't understand what he's saying. It's getting worse; his breathing has become very unsteady and he keeps moaning. I had the other slaves clear out in case they were being too loud for him, but that doesn't seem to have been the problem..." Then Wormmon turned to face him, a much more serious expression crossing his face. "How did it go with Andromon?"

"Long story short," the redhead sighed as he held out the shocker he'd been given. "the best he could do was this. He said it will only shock the spore and won't hurt Ken at all. Something about avoiding the iron in his blood or... whatever. I can never fully understand those damned Andromon."

"They don't simplify things well, that's for sure." the little Digimon looked back over at his partner, who moved his head to the other side of the pillow in his sleep. "I guess it's something, but I had hoped for more."

"Tell me about it..." Daisuke frowned in irritation, his face softening again once his eyes had resettled upon Ken's sleeping form. There was a silence in the room after that, one that felt surprisingly comfortable under the circumstances. The beeping from the medical equipment was strangely soft, having given off a much sharper sound before. Had it been merely his own perception of the noises while under stress that caused it to sound harsher, or was it actually a different sound now?

Daisuke didn't get to think about it much more as Andromon's voice cut through his thoughts. Not that he minded much, as such deep analytical thinking wasn't a specialty of his.

"We will use it right away, then." Andromon spoke as he walked into the room suddenly. He must have been listening outside the door.

"What?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow at the robot, the calmness he'd been experiencing now replaced with tension. "We can't just use it immediately! It's an absolute _last_ resort! We still need to try and find a better way to help him."

"Daisuke." the robot turned to look at him, his words as frank as always. "You appear confused about how much time the master has. He will not last much longer, certainly not long enough to compose another solution. Even the combined efforts of the other Andromon and myself could not create another plan, so we will have to settle with the two already provided."

"They both suck!" the redhead threw his arms up in irritation. "The shocker won't hurt him, but it could fuck up his head again! And trying to remove it won't mess with his head, but it could electrocute him! Yeah, let's do one of those. _Great_ idea."

"So you propose we sit back and let him die, then?"

"I'm proposing that we don't _kill him_, or turn him back into the fucking _Kaiser!_" Daisuke felt his chest clench with frustration. And why wasn't Wormmon backing him up?! Did he agree with Andromon or was he just trying to stay out of the argument? "I'm not saying we do nothing, but we should try to think of another idea. He's not dead, he's still got time."

"At the very least I don't want to chance electrocuting him by trying to remove it..." Wormmon's voice was timid, as though afraid to speak at all with the thick tension permeating the room. "I remember that had a lower chance of success anyway."

"It is true that he is not dead," Andromon responded before the redhead could get a word out. "but it is not true that he has time. You will have to choose very soon between chancing physical endangerment or mental trauma. You cannot avoid both."

"Ugh, I don't want to deal with you right now!" Daisuke groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. He was just so sick of Andromon, both this one and the other one from the desert city. He hated their overly proper way of speaking, but especially their stupidly analytical and unemotional way of thinking.

"Don't get so upset at Andromon, Daisuke." Wormmon spoke up for the robot. "We need his help with this. He's the only one who really, truly understands that spore."

"I do not understand one hundred percent of the mind altering spore inside of Ken's neck." the robot's voice remained void of emotion. "I would say I contain about fifty eight point seven percent-"

"Oh my fucking god shut up!"

"Andromon, please don't start with that..."

Daisuke couldn't help laughing as both he and Wormmon cut Andromon off at the same time. Of course Wormmon had been more polite about it, but apparently all of Andromon's percentage talk was getting on the little green Digimon's last nerve too. He hadn't minded it as much with the other Andromon in the dome city, but he'd also been a bit less technical. Maybe being friends with Taichi and the others had helped him learn how to speak with non-robotic people a bit.

"I must do what is in the master's best interest." Andromon changed back to their previous topic. "If you will not act, then I will be forced to take matters into my own hands."

"Shut the hell up Andromon, before I use _my_ own fucking hands to-"

"Ken-chan ordered you to listen to me if he wasn't able to lead the-"

Both Daisuke and Wormmon were cut off by a loud whimper as they once again raved at the same time. The two of them looked towards the infirmary bed next to them, Ken cringing in his sleep. His breathing had suddenly become ragged and harsh, and his arms shook against the sheets. The redhead felt guilt fill his chest immediately. Had their loud fighting upset him?

Tears ran down the sleeping teen's cheeks and he threw his head from side to side. His hair stuck to his sweaty face and his eyes clenched shut in what appeared to be pain. One of his arms reached out in some kind of haze, though the way it shook so harshly made it clear that it was taking all of his strength to do so.

Daisuke quickly reached out and grabbed the boy's hand before he hurt himself. It didn't seem to help though, because Ken immediately cringed and whimpered again.

"Ken calm down..." Daisuke had trouble getting the words out. Seeing the other like this wrenched at his heart and made his voice catch in his throat. Ken seemed to say something back to him, but his voice was too muffled to understand. The redhead couldn't tell if the other teen was awake or not. He was more concerned about the way he was gasping for breath, as though it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

The redhead could hear his goggles rattling in the shaking boy's hand. So Daisuke reached down to try and pull them out of the other's grasp. However, he was met with quite a resistance. Ken's hand clenched tightly around them and he gasped loudly, shaking his head from side to side again.

"No... n-no!" Ken cried as he pulled the goggles to his chest and hugged them, preventing Daisuke from taking them back.

"Okay, okay!" Daisuke pulled his hand away as though he had been burned. "I won't take them..."

"Is this not enough proof?" Andromon walked over to the bed and stood next to Daisuke. "He has become so ill that he cannot breathe or move properly. These are very severe signs."

"SHUT UP!" Daisuke screamed and immediately felt his shoulders shake with anger, his arms tightening around Ken protectively. "I won't let... I won't... you can't!"

Andromon was right... and he knew it to be true. He couldn't keep denying it just because he didn't like it. Ken was shivering with weakness in his arms and the longer he was stubborn and didn't let anyone do anything, the more likely the other boy was of dying. He was just making it worse.

"Andromon..." suddenly Ken's voice filled the room, though it was weak as his eyes opened halfway. He seemed to be having just as much trouble breathing as he'd had before. Had he finally woken up or was he just talking in his sleep? Daisuke honestly couldn't tell yet. "I want you to remove the spore..."

Daisuke was about to give a heated response when Ken's free hand shot up to cover his mouth and prevent him from saying anything. The redhead looked down at him and a desperate sadness filled his chest as Andromon made his way over to them. The other teen was definitely awake now... he must have heard their conversation.

"Daisuke... don't get in the way." Ken pulled his hand away from his mouth after he had spoken again.

"But-!" Daisuke exclaimed as Andromon pulled him away from the other teen and then went back over to Ken. He fixed the now loose wires and plugs that read his master's vitals, having been loosened and pulled from the redhead's physical contact. Then the robot turned the boy over so that he was lying down on his stomach.

"Andromon wait!" Daisuke rushed to the bedside again in desperation. He was too overwhelmed... Ken's chance of making it was so much lower this way! "Andromon just use the shocker instead! You even said yourself that it had a better chance of working!"

"My master has given me a direct order." Andromon ignored his pleading and continued readying his removal attempt. "I cannot oppose it, regardless of the success chances."

"Daisuke I won't..." Ken cringed in what appeared to be some kind of pain before continuing. "be that monster again. I'd rather get electrocuted."

The redhead looked down at Ken and felt his heart clench in his chest. Regardless of the chances, he would rather die as himself than continue living on as a tyrant with no freewill. That's what Ken had been trying to say to him just now. And if Daisuke were in his position, he knew he would feel the exact same way. He wouldn't let anyone do something that could turn him into a mindless, hateful criminal. He knew that, he _knew_ that... but it was so much easier to think about it in theory, than actually have to face it for real.

That was one of the main problems he'd always had with the other Chosen. You couldn't always be idealistic when reality threw harsh situations in your face. Sometimes you had to fight even though innocent people could get hurt in the battle. And sometimes you had to watch someone take a life threatening risk in order to get better, and you just couldn't afford to sit around looking for a perfect solution when there was a time limit.

And yet here he was, trying to stop Andromon from taking action in order to stick with his idealistic vision of the best solution. There wasn't one though, it didn't exist, and now Ken was having to order Andromon to do something himself, because Daisuke wouldn't do it.

The redhead clenched his fists and looked down at the floor, no longer trying to stop the robot from removing the spore. The other teen was right... something had to _just be done_ now, and no one had more of a right to decided what happened to Ken, than Ken himself did.

"Ken-chan this is insane!" Wormmon gasped when the goggle boy made it clear that he was going to back down and give in. Daisuke held out a hand to silence him. The little insect looked up at him in confusion and disbelief.

Andromon parted the dark strands of hair to either side of Ken's neck, exposing the skin beneath. The red glow of the spore was still visible, though it had dimmed considerably since the last time Daisuke had seen it. Looking at it made his stomach turn.

"Hold very still master." Andromon spoke as he rubbed some kind of cream around the area of his neck. "This will numb your skin, so you should not feel any pain other than what the spore itself provides." The robot then looked over at Daisuke and Wormmon. "You two must stay back in case it retaliates."

"I won't let you do this!" Wormmon exclaimed and then gasped as Daisuke picked him up, preventing him from interfering. "Daisuke what are you doing?! Let go of me!"

"Andromon!" Daisuke called over to the robot. "If it makes any indication of hurting Ken you'll stop, right?"

"Of course." the robot nodded as he pulled a small knife out of a drawer. Daisuke cringed as Wormmon wriggled around in his arms in an attempt to break free. "Master this should not hurt, though you will feel some slight discomfort. Are you ready?"

"Yes." Ken cringed as well and clenched his eyes shut in preparation.

Daisuke held his breath and covered Wormmon's eyes, the little insect whimpering and not struggling to look anymore. Not that it really mattered though, because the moment the knife had barely punctured the skin, Ken's body erupted into violent spasms. Andromon quickly pulled the knife away from him so as not to damage him even more.

"STOP!" Daisuke let go of Wormmon and rushed over to the other boy, climbing up onto the bed with him and pulling him back into his lap like before. Ken gasped and screamed as more spasms wracked his body. The redhead held the back of the other boy's neck firmly so that it wouldn't bleed anymore. Then he used his other arm to hold Ken close to him as he shook. "We're done, we're done!" His words were more for the spore than Ken himself. "We're all done... please, just stop now..."

It seemed that his words had gotten through to something, because the other teen's body began to relax and grow still against him. Andromon reached over and placed a bandage over the cut on his neck. After that Daisuke let the top of his hand rest against the pillow, blood staining his palm.

The fear that had filled the redhead's chest was still there, and just as strongly as before. Especially when Ken's body suddenly went limp in his arms.

"Ken? Ken?!" Wormmon's voice echoed in the room and Daisuke felt himself freeze up. He gently laid the boy down against the pillow and tried not to throw up. His arms were shaking worse than anything he'd ever experienced as only one thought could cross his mind; was Ken dead?

"H-Hey, Ken?" Daisuke's voice broke and shook, giving away his fears. "Ken please, I-I need you t-to say something. Or j-just move or s-something."

"His vitals show he's still alive." Andromon spoke calmly from nearby. "Though they are the weakest I have seen them. I believe the spore's retaliation put it closer to shutting them both down."

Daisuke didn't respond, not really sure how hearing that made him feel. He wanted to thank whatever gods might be listening that Ken was still alive, while he also wanted to cry and throw something against the wall for his condition having gotten worse because of what they'd just tried to do. It may have been Ken's order, but somehow he still felt personally responsible. He'd held Wormmon back and allowed it to happen, after all.

But... damn it, they'd had to try doing _something_! So what now then? What the fuck was he supposed to do now?!

Anger swelled inside of the redhead's chest and he pulled at his own hair because of it. The frustration continued to rise, threatening to explode out of him. Ken wouldn't let him use the shocker and removing it had just made him worse! What the fuck did that leave him to do?!

When the sound of Ken's heartbeat began to slow even more, the redhead felt his resolve snap.

"Fuck it!" Daisuke pulled the shocker out of his pocket as quickly as he could. Ken's orders be damned! He wasn't just going to sit here and-!

Ken's hand shot up and grabbed the redhead's arm suddenly, his tired eyes opening slowly. His grip was weak and Daisuke could have easily overpowered him. His action had surprised him though, and the redhead felt himself freeze and stare down at the other teen instead. The look in Ken's eyes was that of sadness, and to a very strong degree. He probably did want Daisuke to try using it, to possibly save him, but that refusal to let him chance it was still there.

"I... I won't..." Ken had to take deep breaths between words, his struggle to speak having increased drastically now. "allow you... to do something... that could... make me... evil again..." The boy's eyes turned to Andromon. "Destroy the... shocker."

Daisuke glared at the robot, tightening his grip around it as Ken's hand tightened around his wrist. He should just use it right now before Andromon got to him and took it away! He should-

When Andromon shook his head in refusal, the redhead blinked in confusion. Had he just... defied an order from Ken?

"Master, I cannot do that." Andromon answered. "It goes against my nature to disobey you, but so does allowing you to die. Not using the shocker guarantees your death, and I would sooner refuse you than allow you harm."

Daisuke was surprised to see a smile on Ken's face when he looked down at him, his arm still clutched around the shocker in the air.

"I never thought... of that... programming dilemma." Ken chuckled a bit. "Ordering you... to do something... that would harm me." Ken's eyes moved back over to Daisuke, and a decision seem to flash across his face. Then he turned back over to Andromon. "In that case... if he uses... the shocker... then you must... immediately... remove him... from the base."

"What?!" Daisuke gasped and wrenched his arm free of Ken's grasp. "Remove me?!"

"I understand master." Andromon answered, ignoring the redhead's outburst.

"No Ken!" Daisuke felt his arms shake again, but not with anger this time. Tears filled his eyes as desperation threatened to consume him. "Don't make me leave! You need me here, how do you not see that?! I'm the only reason you stopped being the Kaiser in the first place, damn it! If you remove me and then become the Kaiser again, how will I help you?!"

"I've hurt you... so much." Ken clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. "No, I won't... allow it. I won't let... you get hurt... by me again."

"You won't hurt me!" Daisuke exclaimed in a panic. "I'll just do what I did before! Tell Andromon to let me stay here, please Ken!"

"No." Ken's voice was firm, and hearing his stubborn resolve caused the tears in the redhead's eyes to fall down his face. "I might... try to put... the Bio Ring on you again... or something. Something horrible... the Kaiser is horrible. I won't let you... be around him."

"No, no, no, no, no!" Daisuke shook his head from side to side, sobs wracking his shoulders now. His own breathing was getting difficult now too. "Ken... Ken please... please just... just don't make me leave. I'll use the shocker and whatever happens, I'll help you get through it. We can do it together Ken, I know we can!"

"If I become... the Kaiser again..." Ken's face made it clear that he wasn't going to give in, and Daisuke knew what he was going to say even before he said it. "then you will... fight me with... the other Chosen... with all your might. Don't let... them know about... the spore... or they'll hold... back. You must... stay strong and resolute... with them... and bring me down."

"I don't want to fight you with them! I just want to help you on my own!"

"Andromon," Ken cut him off and looked over at the robot. "if he uses it... then he has... to leave, and you can't... let him come back... ever again. Sabotage my... work if you must. And destroy... the Bio Ring's... lingering data... in the computer. Don't... let me capture him... ever again."

"Yes master, if those are your orders."

"No!" Daisuke gripped his hair and shook his head from side to side.

"But..." Wormmon spoke up, though his voice was meek. "do you really think they can stop you by fighting you?"

"Yes." Ken smiled down at his partner and reached out to pat his head weakly. "You just have... to show me... that Digimon are real. If... the spore is working... then I know I'll... wake up again. I know because... that was what I... always refused to confront... the most."

Daisuke wasn't really listening anymore, still shaking his head in refusal. He couldn't accept this. He couldn't just leave Ken like this, not knowing what became of him. He would rather stay with the Kaiser and know what was going on than be forced into darkness. "But what if you don't even become the Kaiser and kick me out for nothing...?" The redhead's were weak as he spoke. "How will I know what happened to you...?"

"You'll know... if I'm the Kaiser again... and if not... then I'll come... to your school." Ken replied, though he was still smiling at Wormmon and patting his head. "Wormmon... you have to... be ruthless too. Don't be soft... just because it's me."

"Ken-chan..." Wormmon didn't speak anymore, tears threatening to fall from his eyes as well.

"I love you Wormmon." Ken gave his partner one last pat on the head, and then turned to face Daisuke. A bright smile spread across his face. The pale, weak boy's hand rose up to touch his much tanner cheek. Daisuke held the hand with his own, and realized suddenly what Ken was about to say. Tears ran down his face and a choked sob caught in his throat. "I love you too, Daisuke."

The redhead felt his eyes widen in horror as the hand that was pressed against his cheek suddenly fell against the pillow. Ken's eyes slid shut, and his whole body seemed to go limp at the same time. Then the sound of the heart monitor flat lining rang out into the room, and Daisuke felt the small amount of composure he'd managed to grasp onto break and crumble away. The shocker in his hand also plummeted against the pillow next to Ken's head.

"KEN!" Daisuke screamed and shook the boy's shoulders, his arms shivering violently. He could hardly breathe with the grief wracking his chest so harshly. "No, no, no!" Daisuke's arms gripped at his hair and he shook his head from side to side, whimpering in desperation. This wasn't happening... it couldn't be, he couldn't have failed like this!

"Daisuke use the shocker!" Wormmon screamed over the redhead's frantic behavior and the noises from the medical machines. "You have to use it!"

Daisuke couldn't get any words out as he rocked back and forth. He couldn't let Ken die, but he couldn't let himself get thrown out! He couldn't do anything, but he had to! His head swam with confusion and desperation, the only sound really making it into his ears being that of Wormmon's voice.

"DAISUKE PLEASE!" Wormmon screamed again, at the top of his lungs now. "Don't just sit there or he'll DIE! Andromon do something! YOU USE IT THEN! PRY IT OUT OF HIS FINGERS!"

Before the robot even had a chance to respond to the order from the little green Digimon, Daisuke had reached down and gripped the shocker firmly in his hand. He lifted Ken into a sitting position, the unconscious boy's head rested against his chest. Time seemed to slow down suddenly as he looked up at the ceiling. Too many thoughts filled his mind at the same time to think about any one of them in particular. The only thing he really knew was what he had to do, even though it hurt so much to do it.

He felt his hand move to press the shocker against Ken's neck, just as the other Andromon had instructed him to do. His finger slid over the button. He clenched his eyes shut as regret filled his chest and many second thoughts filled his mind. He pushed them away though, and somehow he felt his finger squeeze down on the button.

A loud zap sounded and the device seemed to vibrate a bit as it was activated. Ken shook a bit, and the heart monitor suddenly became silent. Andromon, Wormmon and Daisuke stared at it, the redhead wrapping his arms around the still boy's body.

The word 'please' ran across his mind repeatedly as the heart monitor remained silent. Then Daisuke squeezed his eyes shut and ran his right hand through the other boy's hair, sobbing into Ken's shoulder. He rocked back and forth. He couldn't think or move any more than that.

When the soft sound of a beep filled the room Daisuke felt both immeasurable relief and overwhelming dread soar through his heart. He did it. He'd used the shocker, and Ken's body was recovering. But that left him with...

"Andromon don't!" Daisuke pleaded pointlessly. He didn't really believe he'd change the robot's mind, but the words still left his lips anyway. "Let me stay so I can help you protect Ken!"

"Orders have been given." Andromon walked over to the redhead, who tried to jump off the bed and land on the other side, but his leg was grabbed before he could. He gripped the head of the bed as Andromon pulled him. His hands gave out in the end, and he slid over to the robot. His wrists were forced together and then Andromon lifted him up off his feet.

"KEN!" Daisuke kicked and screamed as violently as he could, not forming any other actual words. His feet smacked anything he could manage on the robotic Digimon's body; his head, chest, legs; anything. Nothing seemed to slow him down though, and Andromon walked calmly out of the infirmary.

"Andromon wait!" Wormmon called after the Digimon as he made his way down the hallway. "At least let me give something to him first!"

"I have been ordered to remove him as soon as possible. I cannot wait." Andromon informed the little green Digimon and continued down the hallway.

"LET GO OF ME!" Daisuke kicked at him pointlessly yet again, pulling and wrenching on his wrists. He felt his arms aching with pain from his efforts. He didn't stop though. In fact he pulled and wrenched harder instead. Eventually the pain was overwhelming and his skin was turning red beneath the metal hands of the robot.

"KEN WAKE UP! MAKE HIM STOP!" Daisuke's throat hurt as he screamed out to his friend quite a ways down the hall now.

Andromon lowered him so that he could walk on his own after apparently observing the condition of the boy's wrists. He did not slow his pace though, forcing the redhead to keep up at the same speed. Daisuke tried to pull back and stop his feet, but was yanked forward in response.

"Andromon please," Daisuke didn't care that he sounded completely pathetic begging like this. His pride could go fuck itself. He'd gotten down on his hands and knees in desperation once before, and he'd do it again if he had to. "don't make me leave..." His words were hard to get out as the sobs from before made their way back to him. "Please Andromon! I can't leave now! I can help you save Ken! I CAN FUCKING HELP YOU!"

"You have done all that was required of you." Andromon replied emotionlessly, shoving the redhead through a doorway with him. He knew where they were going now; the top floor docking room. "Ken is physically alive and he clearly believes that there is nothing more you can do for him."

"That's not why he made me leave you PIECE OF SHIT!" Daisuke felt rage fill his chest and he began futilely kicking and lashing out again. "KEN!" He hoped that somehow Ken would be able to hear him, even though he was so far away now that it probably wasn't physically possible.

Daisuke was yanked through the docking room doorway quite roughly, though that was his own fault for having fought back so intensely. After that he was thrown onto the ground in a heap as Andromon went to enter some information into a keypad along the way. It was the same kind as the one Wormmon had used to summon the air squad into the docking room earlier.

The redhead ran to the docking room door, but it was locked. Even so he still tried to force it open. When it wouldn't budge, as he deep down had known it wouldn't, he felt his knees hit the floor. His hands quickly followed, and the sobs picked back up. His tears hit the floor and a strong wave of despair washed over him. He couldn't get out... regardless of his enraged efforts to somehow, magically find a way to win this battle, he still hadn't.

Andromon eventually finished with the keypad and turned to look at him. "You are not to find the base again and sneak back in after I have removed you." The robot walked over to him, and while Daisuke wanted to run away and try to hide or something, he couldn't find the energy to get up.

Andromon lifted him up by his wrists again and Daisuke bit his lip, trying to think of something he could do. There had to be a way he could get out of this situation. He couldn't just get thrown out of here like this! Not when Ken needed him more than ever!

The sound of the large doors in the docking room opening rang through the redhead's ears, followed by the growl of an Airdramon. Daisuke glared angrily at the new Digimon that was apparently supposed to carry him away, still trying desperately to think of a plan. Nothing he thought of would work though... none of it.

"I will not be accompanying you, so you will need to stay still while riding atop the Airdramon." the robot's voice filled his ears.

"I hate you!" Daisuke clenched his eyes shut and verbally spat at him, tears wetting his cheeks again. He knew his insults were probably very childish and stupid, but even so, he meant them completely. "I HATE YOU!"

"Andromon?" another voice filled the room and the robot turned towards the doorway while still holding tightly onto Daisuke's wrists. Immediately the redhead recognized the new Digimon as Kiwimon. "These are for Daisuke to take with him, Wormmon said to bring them before he left."

Andromon reached out to accept the items from the Kiwimon, which the redhead immediately recognized as his goggles and D-Terminal. His D-3 was still clipped to his pants from before. The robot quickly stuffed the objects into Daisuke's pant pockets and then lifted him up higher so they were face to face.

"I cannot have you seeing where the base is while you leave." Andromon seemed to think out loud. "You might try to come back and sneak inside. So I suppose that leaves me only one option."

Daisuke's really had no idea what the robot was talking about at first. It only left him one option? What fucking option was that?! Was he going to gag, blindfold and tie him up or something? Wouldn't surprise him at this point, with all the other bullshit that had just happened.

However, when all the robot did was pull his arm back, Daisuke realized what was happening. Before he could even gasp, the metal hand had slammed into his head and everything went black.

* * *

Daisuke groaned and curled his body up into a ball, cringing as pain throbbed against his skull. The smell of grass filled his nostrils and the sun beat down on his skin. There was a breeze blowing through the air that would have normally felt quite refreshing in such weather, but with the memories of why he was here in the first place filtering back into his foggy mind, it didn't end up feeling nearly as good as it should have.

The redhead sat up very slowly and gently held the side of his head that had suffered the blow with his right hand, a cringe forming on his face. He realized then that there was a blindfold wrapped around his eyes, which he probably would have observed sooner had he not been in such pain. So he pulled it down around his neck and opened his eyes.

Immediately the light from the bright sun made his head hurt more, but he looked around anyway. He didn't recognize his surroundings at all, unfortunately. He appeared to be up on a plateau with a steep cliff in front of him, leading downward into a valley. Directly behind him on the plateau, as well as to all remaining sides, was a large field of healthy green grass with occasional trees. How long had he been here?

As another gust of wind blew, the grass in the field all bent along with it. A few yellow petals from scattered flowers rose up into the air, and thinner trees swayed to the side a bit. The sky was bright blue and the clouds pearly white. It was a beautiful place, one that he would have normally loved immensely. Right now though, its virtues were lost amidst the creeping dread rising in his heart.

The boy laid back down in the soft grass and shut his eyes, turning over onto his side and curling back up into a ball. He wasn't cold, he just felt like shit. Physically, mentally, and emotionally so. He was in pain from being knocked out, grieving over Ken, and felt incredibly drained over his situation as a whole.

He just needed to know what happened to Ken. He _needed_ to know. If he could find that out, even if it wasn't a good answer, then he could figure out what to do next. The problem, which he only just now realized, was that if he turned on his D3 to check the map for Ken's activities, that meant the other Chosen would rush to get him.

Did he want to be saved yet? Did he want to go back? No, he didn't want that at all. He wanted to find the base and drag Ken out of it, kicking and screaming if he had to, back to the real world.

To turn on the D3 or not... that was the ultimate question buzzing around in the teen's mind. The real, main problem was that he didn't even know if he'd get an answer by checking the map for sure. He may spend the entire time it took the other Chosen to find him vigorously scanning every area he could of Ken's latest dark tower movements, and still not come to any conclusions. Then the others would find him and he'd go back to the real world, having accomplished nothing. Then again, Koushiro was in the real world...

Koushiro... yes, he probably already knew what Ken was doing. If he went back home, all he'd have to do is ask him what he was up to and...

But going back meant confronting his parents and probably some reporters too. He'd been gone for months now, and his family wasn't going to just say 'hi' and carry on like normal. They'd demand answers, his mom would probably cry a lot, and then the media would be at his door or something. Or maybe just police officers, but it was all equally irritating.

What the hell was he going to tell everyone? That he got lost in the sea of people in Tokyo and finally managed to find a train back to Odaiba? Yeah, what a joke. He could say he got kidnapped, but then that would cause the police to go looking for some made up criminal and possibly drag some innocent person in to jail over it. So... what then? Was he supposed to just pretend he couldn't remember? He'd probably have to ask the others to help him figure this out...

Memories of something being shoved into his pocket flashed through his mind and he reached into it to pull out whatever it had been. A smile crossed his face when he saw his goggles, which he immediately put on, and his D-Terminal, which he switched on. It didn't have any kind of tracking abilities like the D3 did; it was just a messaging device.

Immediately his D-Terminal began buzzing with messages; old ones from the time he'd spent in the base. There were hundreds... some from the Chosen, but most were from his parents and friends from school. There was no way he was actually going to read all of this, it would take hours. So instead he simply pressed the 'select all' option and then 'delete'. Then he placed the messaging device back into his right pant pocket.

Daisuke buried his face into his folded up arms in the grass and groaned. Well he couldn't just lay here forever, he needed to do something. He had no idea where he was so he couldn't go back to the base. He felt too weak to walk anywhere and try to find a Digimon that he could ask about Ken, and he couldn't just lay there forever. That pretty much left him one last option.

The teen slowly pulled himself to his feet and managed to make his way over to a tree, sitting back down and resting his back against the trunk. Then he pulled out his D3 and gave it a defeated look, pressing the red power button on the front. The screen brightened and turned on, showing the menu. He selected the map option and began searching for anything. Whatever it took, he needed to find it.

His inspection of the area map was frantic and rushed, and he had a bad feeling that he was missing things as he went from place to place. Even so, he just didn't have the time to-

His D-Terminal buzzed from inside his pocket, and then immediately a second time. It followed by a third and fourth time. Yes, the Chosen had found his signal for sure. They were undoubtedly asking if he was okay or something. He really didn't know how to feel about it. He was happy and relieved at the same time that he was frustrated and wanting to hide. He could still turn off his D3 and run away somewhere...

More time passed as he continued his search, now scanning the area right next to the beach that he and Ken had been to before. Everything appeared okay there. He knew for a fact that the beach and the surrounding areas hadn't had dark towers before he'd left.

Memories of his time with Ken on the beach pulled themselves up to the surface of his mind, as well as the many mixed emotions that went along with them. He tried his best to force them down so that he wouldn't get emotional right now. He needed to keep his senses as sharp as possible until he found an answer, not get distracted and become emotionally compromised.

All of the redhead's thoughts melted away and froze when his eyes ran across the beach area itself. There, right along the coast, was a dark tower. In fact it appeared to be right where he and Ken had been sitting together before. Ken had stopped building dark towers long before their time together on the beach, so the only way for that to be there... was if Ken had just built it while he'd been unconscious.

As the redhead stared at the D3, hoping that somehow he'd realize that he just wasn't seeing it right, a smear of red caught his eye. Along the side of the device where his hand was holding it, there was a bit of blood. It must have been Ken's from back when he'd held his neck...

Daisuke felt his arms weaken and slump down onto the ground next to him, his head thudding against the tree and his D3 clattering onto the ground. His eyes clouded over with tears as he stared up at the blue sky, normally beautiful to look upon but currently unappreciated.

He'd failed. Completely and utterly failed, in every sense of the word. He'd had Ken right there with him, so close to being free from the oppression and manipulation of the spore. And then in just a few seconds, it was all gone. He may as well have never even been there at all. All those months... for absolutely nothing.

His mind seemed to shut off and his body took over in its place. No more thoughts or regret filtered through his head or caused tears to threaten his cheeks. Instead he just grew numb and empty, unable to regret or grieve.

The scene of the valley down below the cliff looked different now, as the clouds rolled overhead. Before it had been vibrant with colors and beauty, but now seemed plain and lifeless. The lovely colors were gone and replaced with duller shades. The top of the blue river that once glistened as the water flowed with its current was now slower and grey, no sparkle upon its shores. Even the trees seemed a bit warped, no longer tall and grand but stunted and with twisted, knotted up branches.

Was it just the darkened sky of the clouds overhead causing such a different view of the land? He genuinely wondered for a moment or two.

Then he became aware of a buzzing sound, one that he was pretty sure he recognized somewhere in the back of his mind. It wasn't his D-Terminal this time though. As the sound got louder, an image of Kabuterimon flashed through his still clouded mind. The chosen were coming, and the buzzing was the large insect Digimon's wings.

He didn't move when he heard a massive group of Digimon land in the grass nearby, or stir when many footsteps echoed dully in his head. He didn't react at the sound of his name from multiple voices and locations around him, or twitch when a hand was on his shoulder.

There were people around him now, but he didn't care. The valley was... ugly. It really wasn't that beautiful at all, actually. Why had it seemed so wondrous just moments ago? There wasn't anything there to give it any such credit. Distorted trees, grey water, dull colors and apparently some kind of thin fog had come in now.

He did everything he could to not listen to anything being said to him, even though so many people were talking and looking at him. He just couldn't handle it right now. He couldn't handle seeing their faces, knowing that deep down they weren't the ones he wanted.

He just wanted Ken. He wanted his friend back, the one he'd just spent months slowly pulling out of some kind of dark, fucked up hell and back to earth, who had now been yanked away from him right as they were about to reach the end of the tunnel. Ken had been right there, right _fucking_ there!

Memories of their time at the beach together replayed in his mind, followed by the time when Ken had fixed his goggles as a gift. Ken laying next to him in bed was next, along with the feeling of his fingers running gently through his hair. He especially remembered their little food battle in the kitchen, and how it had ended.

He remembered Ken's smile, and the way he-

"DAISUKE!" Hikari's voice was sudden and loud as it pierced his skull. The redhead jumped and his eyes went wide, adrenalin filling his body as she shook his shoulders sharply.

He looked into her brown eyes. Worry was all he could find in them; just a pure, deep fear over his health. It's not like she or any of the others hadn't been scared out of their minds these past few months. Hell, when he really looked at it, he'd been worried over his own wellbeing far less than everyone else he knew all this time.

Hikari's eyes filled with tears suddenly and her voice cracked as she spoke. "Daisuke are you okay?! Please answer me!" She took a shaky breath in and the tears shed down her face, and fell onto her knees. She wasn't the only one. Everyone else seemed to have some kind of terror in their face as they looked down at him.

They'd been talking to him for a while, hadn't they? And he hadn't been moving or responding... he'd just been staring out into the distance, emotionless and defeated. No wonder they were so upset. They probably thought he was brain dead or something.

It wasn't right for him to scare them like this. It was just that he knew that if he let himself snap out of the daze he'd allowed himself to fall into, that he'd become overwhelmed with emotions. He wouldn't be able to hold back any of the grief that was now threatening to spill out all over the place. He'd suppressed it somehow, and now he had to choose to keep it in or let it out.

He let his eyes scan the group in front of him. Miyako had her hands over her mouth, Iori was staring with wide eyes, Takeru was down on his knees next to him with Hikari, both looking scared, and last was Taichi. His look was different though... the same fear was there as with everyone else, but there was also a kind of searching gaze in his eyes as well.

His friends didn't deserve to watch him do this to himself. They had finally gotten him back, even if it wasn't exactly their doing for his escape, and all they'd found was an empty shell. He didn't want to confront his emotions, but for their sake, he had to. Ken wasn't coming back right now, or at least not anytime soon. So at the _very least_, if he couldn't have Ken back, then his friends deserved to have _him_ back instead.

"I'm s-sorry Hikari..." His voice shook as it came out finally. "I just... I can't..."

And just like that, his resolve was gone. Daisuke took a deep breath in and let it come out in the form of a long, drawn out scream. Not an angry or scared scream, but the kind one gave when too much had just happened to handle all at once. It wasn't just the grief or failure, or the regret... it was all of them put together. They overwhelmed and consumed, like a warm of locust upon a field.

His chest literally ached as sobs wracked his body, tears streaming down his face which he now had covered with his hands. Hikari and Takeru were the first to wrap their arms around him in a tight embrace, followed quickly by Miyako, Iori and Taichi.

Never in his life had he cried like this. He rarely did in the first place, but from time to time he had wept for whatever reason. And while it was true that he did contain a large amount of pride, it was also true that he contained a very low amount of shame. It didn't embarrass him to cry in front of people, or to be seen begging, or whatever else. What people thought of him didn't matter. That had never been the issue here.

No, it was simply that he didn't know if he was ever going to be able to stop now that he'd started. What he was doing right now wasn't crying. It was sobbing harder than anything he could have ever imagined, and it was honestly a bit scary. It was becoming hard to breathe and his body was shivering with each choked, inward breath he managed to get in.

This was the real reason why he'd tried to keep it down. He'd always been an emotional person, far more than the average person. There never seemed to be a small scale emotional reaction towards something for him. It was just one extreme to the next. So he'd known that this was going to be especially bad, and he just hadn't contained the energy to deal with it all alone.

But he supposed now, with the others here beside him, he didn't have to deal with it by himself.

More tears than just his own were falling now. The range of emotions was as vast as the brightening valley below, the clouds moving away now. There was overwhelming happiness, sadness, hatred and confusion in the air. There was one emotion that they all shared as a group though, one that even Daisuke was included in.

No matter what had happened, or what was yet to come, they were relieved to at least all have each other back again.

(Author's Note: Just gonna say right now, that no, this is NOT the end of the story lol. I wouldn't be that terrible...)


	19. Calm Before the Storm

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 19: Calm Before the Storm

Author's Note: This chapter is basically a transition between the previous one and the next one to come. Originally I'd written Daisuke's classroom number as 5-A to stick with canon, but I changed it to 12-A because I forgot the number reflects the grade they're in (thanks PrideViola for pointing that out). Also Ine-Capa deserves a big thank you! She did exactly what I wanted her to do and was very frank with me about her criticism, which is exactly what I want from a beta reader =)

Chapter Note: Seeing as I have readers from all over the world, I want to briefly describe the standard Japanese school system so that many things in this chapter will make sense. Students are in the same classroom all day and the teachers rotate between rooms. The day starts with a 5 minute homeroom meeting, then four morning classes, and then lunch, which is eaten in the student's homeroom. This is followed by two more classes, school cleanup, and then another 5 minute homeroom meeting. One hour of an after school activity is required, though some students attend more. It's not required but many students attend Juku after that, which is tutoring from a private school. _Some _schools also have four morning classes on Saturdays, and the day ends where lunch would have begun. As for the Chosen's school, it does indeed have Saturday classes (Episode 36 at time 6:33).

* * *

Everything in classroom 12-A froze as the redhead walked inside and shut the door behind him. His suitcase hung loosely from a single finger on his left hand while his right held a folded up piece of paper. All eyes were upon him, the once lively classroom ceasing all movement immediately. No one continued eating their lunches or talking with their friends, and their teacher was no longer working on the stack of papers at her desk. It seemed that the only remaining motion was coming from the oscillating fan in the back corner of the room.

"Daisuke!" Takeru stood up from his chair and Hikari smiled brightly in the seat beside him. As was usual for his homeroom during lunchtime, most of the kids had bunched up their desks to make larger tables for groups to sit together at. Takeru and Hikari always grouped their desks along with a few other students, and under normal circumstances, Daisuke as well. However, his desk was currently sitting alone and empty in the center of the class.

Still no movement or sound was made as he walked over to his teacher. His footsteps felt ridiculously loud in the silence of Class 12-A's normally rambunctious lunch period. He held out the piece of paper in his right hand once he'd reached Akashi-sensei's desk, and his teacher took it. She unfolded it and quickly scanned over the words written on the paper without saying anything to him. Then, after a few painfully long moments, she folded it back up.

"I understand." Akashi-sensei nodded and handed it back to him. "It's very nice to have you back, Motomiya-san."

"Thanks." Daisuke forced a smile, not really wanting to but also not wanting to be impolite on his first day back. He almost didn't want to turn and face his classmates, and instead just stand there looking at his teacher until the bell rang. Nevertheless he did manage to get his body to twist around.

Hushed whispers floated about the room, though he wasn't entirely sure where they were coming from as he made his way over to his desk and sat down. Every person he looked at was just staring at him, not speaking to anyone. So they must have waited until he'd looked away to begin gossiping. He tried to just ignore it though. He'd already eaten lunch just before he came so he'd probably just play handheld video games or something until class started.

"Hey!" Hikari suddenly pushed her desk over to his, Takeru quickly following. The redhead smiled as the two of them gave him a hug. "You came back finally!"

"Heh, yeah." Daisuke felt the eyes from all around him burning into the back of his head, and could practically hear his classmate's ears twitching from the effort to overhear their conversation. "My parents pretty much made me."

"Well that's good." Takeru grinned a bit. "You shouldn't sit at home all day, especially after... everything."

"Mm..." Daisuke replied in an unspecific manner, no idea how to _actually_ respond to that. For the past week since his return to the real world his head had been throbbing endlessly and his mind had been in a whirl. How much pain there was varied from one moment to the next, but it never fully went away. No surprise, considering the head injury he'd endured from Andromon. On top of that he'd had Chibimon living in his room with him, which he was incredibly thankful for, but at the same time his little partner could get awfully loud sometimes...

Thinking back, he had to admit that he felt a bit guilty. He hadn't said anything to anyone these past seven days, not even the other Chosen. Even his own parents, who had been living in the same house with him, had been left in the dark until just a few hours ago. Surely they had all been worried. But every time he'd tried to talk about it with someone he just hadn't been able to get the words out.

When he'd shown up at his parent's front door his head had been horribly bruised, and he'd been completely out of it. His family had never seen him like that before and it seemed to really startle them, more so even than him having randomly shown up in the first place. He'd pretty much spent the entire week grieving and wanting to just be alone, and that had been granted to him. From his mother and father's perspectives though, it had done nothing to improve his condition. So of course the time had come for them to fully confront him and demand answers, and then demand that he go outside and see his friends. That time had been that very morning.

He'd been asked if he'd run away, or gotten lost, or been threatened, or captured, or trapped, or whatever else. He'd also been asked who had hurt him, and that question just made him want to laugh. How many answers could he give to that? If he wanted to be literal, a robot-man in a digital computer world had been the one to physically hurt him, which was why he'd had to get multiple doctors to inspect his head injury this past week. If he wanted to be less literal and more honest about it though, he could go on for hours about all the things that had hurt him.

But that surely wasn't the right thing to say, so he'd remained quiet. He'd already decided at that time to make sure Ken didn't look like a villain because of something that had been out of his control, or even get brought up at all. And then his father asked him to just be truthful, because he could trust his family. Somehow those words had sparked something, and Daisuke had decided to actually try telling them the truth about the Digital World.

What a stupid idea _that _had been. He could still hear that conversation attempt festering spitefully in the depths of his memories.

_'Well... you know how I had been staying really late after school sometimes before I disappeared?'_ Daisuke had begun the conversation with. His parents had nodded simply in response. He'd known at the time that he couldn't tell them he was captured by Ken, but maybe he could pass it off as having been a Digimon that called itself the Kaiser instead. _'That's because...'_ Daisuke had continued. _'I've been going to this... place. And there was this... thing there. Like a monster basically. It's really hard to explain, but I can prove it if you'll let me use that computer-'_

_'Really Daisuke?'_ his father had cut him off suddenly with an angry voice. _'A 'place' with a 'thing-monster'? Can you seriously stop making up stupid stories and just tell us what happened?'_

_'After everything we've been through we really don't deserve this!'_ his mother's voice had held the same condescending irritation in it as his father just seconds before.

Daisuke had immediately become furious. How fucking dare they? After everything he'd had to endure, when he'd finally felt brave enough to tell them what had really happened, they'd had the nerve to talk down to him just because he wasn't able to find the words right away? As if, after he and so many others had gone through so much emotional turmoil, he'd do something like make up dumb stories just to get out of having to tell the truth. He wasn't stupid and he hadn't been lying!

It had been that way since he could remember though. His parents would ask him something but would already have an answer they expected him to give. That was the only answer they would accept, and if what he said didn't go along with that then it had to be false. Jun could surprise them with things, give them answers that they had a hard time accepting, but they'd still try to give her the benefit of the doubt. Not Daisuke though, he was just their lying, idiot son.

It had occurred to him then that he could probably just show them Chibimon and that would prove it. However, at that point he didn't _want _to tell them anymore. As far as he was concerned they didn't deserve the knowledge, and if they discovered Chibimon on their own, then that was good for them, but he didn't really care either way anymore.

So he'd simply stiffened up and told them that he couldn't remember anything, and that he'd been lying before because he didn't think they'd believe his memory loss. And they'd even had trouble believing that, but eventually they seemed to give in and accepted it.

And so here he was now, sitting in his classroom after he and his parents had spoken with multiple people about it. He'd been sure to give the exact same story to Kaido-san, his school counselor, and the police about his 'memory loss'. All he'd stated was that he'd been in a park after school, something hit his head, and then he'd woken up months later in that same park with his head throbbing. He'd been asked to give more details than that, but he simply insisted on having nothing further to say. Being pissed off at his parents made it much easier to keep up with his lie than it normally would have been. The only time he was good at hiding his thoughts was when some kind of stubborn, angry decision had been involved. Any other time, he'd usually spout out his thoughts without thinking and blow his own cover somehow.

"I'm sorry, what?" Daisuke spoke up, suddenly realizing that Hikari had been talking to him.

"Uh..." the girl blinked and then laughed a bit. "I was asking what your school counselor said about the attendance and schoolwork you've missed these past few months."

"Oh..." Daisuke scowled and crossed his arms in frustration. "He said he'd waive the time I missed because memory loss indicates trauma or some crap, and he reset all of my grades to B's, but the jerk is making me go to _five fucking hours_ of Juku every week in exchange! I can choose which days but every Monday morning I have to give him a time card, showing that I did the hours the week before... He said if three of my grades slip down to C's or if even one becomes an F, then he'll add more time each week, and he'll just keep adding on more and more if they keep slipping. My life is seriously over!"

"That's a bit dramatic, saying your life is over don't you think?" Takeru raised an eyebrow at the redhead's explanation.

"Are you kidding?" Daisuke crossed his arms. "Can you even _imagine _how much Juku I'm probably going to end up getting shoved on me by the end of this? I'm gonna _die_!"

Takeru and Hikari laughed and shook their heads, and Daisuke felt himself laugh too. The three of them smiled at each other after that, and before he knew it they were wrapped up in another group hug.

"We've really missed you..." Hikari seemed to get a bit teary, and Daisuke felt guilt fill his chest again.

"Everyone has been really worried." Takeru didn't seem teary, though his eyes definitely held a lot of emotions. "You haven't talked to anyone since you got back, and... I dunno, we just didn't know what was going on."

"I'm sorry guys..." Daisuke rubbed the back of his head a bit in an awkward apology. "I just really needed some space for a bit..."

"We know." Hikari smiled, seeming to cheer up now. "We told the others that when they asked about you. I know you didn't say that to us yourself or anything, but I guess we just figured you'd want to wait a bit before going back to school or talking to anyone."

"Well..." Daisuke turned around in his chair and let his eyes move about the room. "Coming back to school wouldn't be nearly so awkward if everyone would quit staring at me like I'm some kind of _DANGEROUS ZOO ANIMAL_!"

An awkward clearing of throats filled the classroom and eyes darted back down to their desks and away from the redhead. His classmates seemed to move their attention off of him and onto whatever they had been doing before he'd walked into the room.

"Motomiya-san." Akashi-sensei spoke up suddenly. "I understand your frustration and I know that a lot of things have happened to you, but there is no need to speak so rudely to your peers."

"Sorry Sensei." Daisuke stood up and bowed, trying to make it seem sincere even though he didn't mean a word of it. "I was just frustrated, I didn't mean to snap."

"Well you must watch your language. Everyone else, please just eat your lunches and mind your own business." Akashi-sensei said to no one specific, her eyes moving from one side of the room to the other. Daisuke sat back down and sighed. He needed to keep his voice down more in class... normally at lunch time he could speak naturally and no one would hear him, because everyone else was so loud. But today that wasn't quite the case...

"So what was that note you gave her?" Takeru asked, his eyes flashing over to their teacher for a moment.

"Oh it just said all the same stuff I told you," Daisuke lowered his voice quite a bit this time. "about my grades and the memory loss, and to not pester me about where I've been since I don't know anyway."

"Ah, right." Takeru nodded, realizing what he meant right away. Hikari just smiled. Daisuke had already sent out a message to the chosen that explained his official memory loss story, but he hadn't been entirely specific about it. Not that there were many specifics to give when your story was essentially, 'I was there, I got hit, and I woke up'. But... whatever.

The rest of lunch had a lighter feel to it, as less eyes were fixed onto him and fewer ears were listening sharply to his words. It seemed as though the three of them were making a point of avoiding any serious topics for Daisuke's sake, and he appreciated it immensely. He knew the time would come when the others would ask what _actually _happened between him and Ken that day, and if he needed any help getting past it all. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say to them when that confrontation arrived, but until then he wasn't going to worry about it.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, its warm rays shining down upon the sandy beach. A cool breeze from the sparkling blue waters picked up and refreshed the skin. Seagulls called out as they flew overhead in circles, hoping to pick up any dropped food on the ground. So far it appeared their quest had been quite successful, considering how many people were there this Sunday afternoon.

Daisuke smiled and looked up at the sky. This was the kind of weather he loved, and if it were up to him it would just stay this way every day. Most people thought it was too hot, and sure it would be more comfortable if it dropped a few degrees, but that wasn't important. He loved summer, the beach and being able to go outside. He hated rain, overcast skies and especially snow. Winter was the worst time of the year without a doubt.

"Well don't take this the wrong way," Takeru laughed as he continued from where their conversation had just been. "because I don't think you were wrong for doing it. It's just, that girl probably didn't _mean _to irritate you, she just wasn't thinking about what she was doing."

"Yeah well..." Daisuke gave a smirk. "and I didn't _mean _to make her feel awkward or nervous while I stared at her for three solid minutes, after she'd been staring at me all damned day, either. So I guess we're even."

"You're such a jerk." Takeru punched his shoulder playfully as they reached the parking lot, the blond apparently knowing of a bathroom building somewhere near it. Going to the beach today hadn't been his own idea, it had been Takeru's oddly enough. The blond didn't normally seem interested in such places, but apparently he'd really craved swimming or something. Neither of them had any money so why not use nature's free ocean instead? That had been their logic, anyway. So they'd changed into their swim shorts at home and met up. "But you _are_ right... everyone did stare at you today."

"I know, it's really annoying!" The redhead sighed and glared at the cars around them as he tried to help find this apparently run away restroom building. "I like attention and all that, but this kind really sucks... I want them to be in awe of my _mad skills _or something, not looking at me like I'm some kind of festering emotional wreck..."

Daisuke knew his classmates just felt that it wasn't polite to confront him so boldly and ask him what happened. Some students had asked if he was okay, and expressed happiness at his return. He appreciated it, but just wished that more people were as straightforward as he was. He didn't want them to stare at him, wondering all sorts of things and never getting closure on it because they felt they couldn't just ask him face to face_._ Now rumors had begun spreading about his disappearance, some knowing of his memory loss and others just making up stories to stir trouble, or to try and work out the truth themselves. To say the least, it was irritating.

"It'll blow over." Takeru walked up right next to a car that Daisuke had never seen before. "Just keep saying you have no memories when someone asks and they'll lose interest eventually. That's all I did anyway and it seems to have worked."

"Yeah well you weren't missing for three months, and anyway, they need to hurry up and lose interest faster." the redhead frowned a bit, still not seeing this supposed restroom building. "You know... I really don't think this is where the-"

"SURPRISE!"

Daisuke gasped as ten people suddenly jumped out from behind various cars nearby and rushed towards him, tugging him this way and that in attempts to hug him while everyone else was doing the same thing. Immediately he recognized them as the other Chosen, even Mimi, and they settled on one big group hug instead.

Once they pulled away, Daisuke blinked and really got a chance to look around at them all, currently dressed for an afternoon at the beach. Eventually he saw Takeru again and gave the blond a mock-glare. "You liar!"

"Don't complain!" Takeru scoffed. "You know you're happy I did this."

"Hey now, this surprise party was _my _idea!" Miyako huffed but clearly wasn't genuinely upset.

"Surprise _party_?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Taichi ran over to a van nearby and opened the door, displaying a massive picnic basket, a box full of beach games, a soccer ball and many wrapped presents. "We got all this stuff put together this morning and one of my college buddies drove us here. He's letting us keep the stuff in his van while he and his girlfriend go hang out a ways down the beach together. They're leaving when it gets dark, so we have until then."

"But... why are there presents?" Daisuke frowned a bit, still not fully understanding what was going on.

"They're yours." Yamato pointed over to them with a grin. "You didn't really get to celebrate your birthday this year so we thought we'd all get you something now that you're back."

"Yeah we were originally going to come to your house and bring them." Jyou laughed a bit. "But we heard you wanted some alone time, so we figured once you decided to go back to school we'd just do this instead."

"I told everyone on Monday when you first came back!" Hikari smiled. "And I made sure to get the day planned for today so your Juku wouldn't interfere."

Daisuke felt his face drop into a scowl just from hearing that wretched word. He'd decided on attending an hour of Juku each weeknight after Soccer practice instead of on Saturday or Sunday. He didn't want his Saturday to become a full day of school, and Sunday was his _day off_, damn it. If anything came up and he couldn't go on a certain weeknight, then he'd just make up the time on Saturday. He did recall telling Hikari his idea about all that, now that he thought about it.

A few of the others chuckled at his facial expression, and the sound caused a smile to spread back over his face. He couldn't help it. He really had been lonely during his secluded week in his room, and while he'd needed it, he was now realizing how much he wanted to see everyone again.

It was then that Daisuke noticed the cast on Iori's leg. He vaguely recalled the boy hurting it during one of his attacks on the Chosen because of the Bio Ring. At least it didn't appear that he needed crutches or anything, and could walk on it with a limp.

"Hey, sorry about your leg..." Daisuke sighed and gave the shorter boy a sheepish look.

"Huh?" Iori looked down at his injury. "Oh, don't apologize for that. It was _Ken's _fault, not yours. And I'm getting it taken off in a few more days anyway."

Daisuke felt himself tense up with frustration at the boy's spiteful words, forcing himself to not reply. He didn't want to get mad at Iori and possibly say something rude, because he understood why the boy felt the way he did. If he were in Iori's position he'd probably have said the exact same-

"Race 'ya!" Taichi smacked Daisuke's arm suddenly and took off, the redhead's thoughts cut off immediately. Embracing a chance to think about something else, he dashed after the Child of Courage. They weaved between parked cars and parking meters, soon enough making their way out onto the sand. Try as he might though, Daisuke was never able to catch back up to the other's initial head start, and as they ran he'd only lost more distance. Taichi's feet hit the water first, and by quite a long shot.

"Agh!" Daisuke growled and panted, his hands on his knees.

"Hah!" Taichi laughed and kicked water at him. "Slow poke!"

"Miyako!" Daisuke called angrily over to the girl currently helping carry their beach stuff. "Get that soccer ball if you don't already have it!" Then he looked over at the Child of Courage. "This jerk is going down!"

* * *

"Ugh..." Daisuke flopped down onto his stomach in the sand next to the others.

"Did your match not go so well?" Koushiro asked, having been helping with setting up the volley ball net for the past twenty minutes or so. Afterward he and the others had spread out a large blanket to sit on and talk amongst themselves. Or whatever they had done. Daisuke wasn't totally sure, as he'd been attempting to one-up Taichi in soccer for all of it. Attempting...

"I _creamed _him!" Taichi laughed and tossed the ball down onto the sand next to the redhead, who had now buried his face into his arms next to the blanket. This was horrible. He always lost to Taichi, but never to _that _extent. He hadn't just been destroyed, or even ruined, no, he'd been completely and utterly abolished and then smeared into the sand. He hadn't scored a single point, or even gotten the ball away from him. The few times he had, the brunette had _immediately_ stolen it back.

This was surely because of being cooped up in the base for three months and then isolated to his bedroom for another week after that. He hadn't been able to practice soccer or anything physical at all during that time and now his skill had decreased. He had to do something... no way could he allow this to happen. How the hell was he supposed to one-up Takeru at anything if he sucked like this?!

Daisuke sat up and crossed his legs, finding that the others had started eating lunch. So he reached forward and grabbed one of the unused disposable plates. Looking around he saw that there was a large variety of sushi, meat buns, rice balls, vegetables, rolled eggs, broiled fish and sandwiches. Feeling especially hungry after his failed soccer attempt, he grabbed a bit of everything along with a bottle of green tea.

Casual conversation picked up immediately now that Daisuke had joined them for lunch, everyone asking him random questions about how he was. Well, everyone except Mimi, who was nodding out next to Sora. It was around 2am in America right now after all, and she wasn't used to staying up so late. After failing at nudging the other girl awake and having Mimi snoozing against her shoulder, Sora turned to Daisuke to ask about how his first week back at school was. He was honest about it...

"It sucked."

"Really?" Sora seemed surprised by his answer. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Wh'd it sck?" Taichi asked through his food, which earned him a disapproving frown from his sister for eating so impolitely in front of others.

"Everyone keeps staring at me like I've grown horns and demon wings or something!" Daisuke rolled his eyes, memories of his past week at school hovering over him like a dark cloud. "It's annoying... and on top of that my math work was like another language, science made no sense, and don't even get me _started _on my stupid, confusing English work..."

"How was Juku?" Jyou asked after the redhead had trailed off.

"Shit." Daisuke answered simply, taking a bite out of a meat bun afterward. "Makes no f'kin snse." He continued through his food, as Taichi had done before. Hikari frowned at him as well. Miyako, Takeru and Taichi laughed a bit and then continued eating.

The conversation went around and changed topics repeatedly. For a while they discussed the importance and values of Juku, which Daisuke had ignored and instead focused on his food. Fuck Juku. After that it had changed to who would be on which teams for volleyball now that they'd set up the net. Daisuke had never been much of a volleyball enthusiast, but he wanted to play it just to be on the opposite team as Takeru. Plus it put him on Taichi's team, who he frankly didn't feel like going up against for a while after that soccer ordeal just now. Everyone wanted to finish eating before they played though.

After that they'd talked about the weather and how to make the meat buns that Koushiro's mother had prepared for them. These had all been fine enough conversations, Daisuke involving himself from time to time. Everything was comfortable until Yamato mentioned something offhandedly.

"Oh, when are we meeting up at Koushiro's place again?" The Child of Friendship had asked the group in a general manner, not really addressing anyone in particular.

"For what?" Daisuke asked out of curiosity.

"We're getting ready for a new attack strategy against the Kaiser." Koushiro offered in response. "We decided on next Saturday after everyone's morning classes are over."

"We've been focused on rescuing you up until now." Takeru explained further. "But since you escaped we're getting back on the offensive."

"Oh..." Daisuke trailed off without another word. He felt his body tense up and his eyes lower to the blanket beneath him. He didn't know how to react to the thought of fighting Ken, and ended up saying nothing more at all. He wanted to disappear, sitting with the others now feeling very uncomfortable to him. He doubted anyone else felt that way though. How was he supposed to fight against Ken now, after everything that had happened?

"How did you escape anyway?" Taichi asked, Daisuke feeling even more awkward now. In the back of his mind he'd thought maybe someone would ask him about it today, but he'd hoped that he'd turn out to be wrong... "I've been wanting to ask but there was never a good time." Taichi continued.

The redhead didn't look up from the ground and tried to think of what he could say. He really just wanted to answer the question honestly and say that Wormmon had let him go, and then tell them all about Ken and the spore. He even tried to open his mouth to do so, but no sound came out. He tried again, but was met with the same outcome. He couldn't speak for some reason... the words just got caught in his throat and never made it to the others.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't feel comfortable with it." Hikari's voice snapped him out of his daze, and he smiled at her.

"I'd rather not." He answered, able to get his words out now as his body relaxed. "It's nothing personal, it's just... really hard to talk about."

"Yes well..." a scowl formed on Iori's face suddenly. "That's all thanks to _Ken_ of course."

Daisuke felt his body tense back up, worse than before.

"It's bad enough what he's already done to you," Iori continued, still scowling. "but even now after you've escaped he's _still_ managing to plague your life, like the monster he-"

"_Shut up_!" Daisuke's words came out immediately and without any thought to them. His fists were clenched tightly and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears as anger filled his body. All eyes were wide and on him, and then they were on Iori, and then back at him. Iori just looked confused and startled by his unexpected outburst.

"I..." the smaller boy blinked from across the picnic blanket.

"I-I mean..." Daisuke also blinked a bit and then looked down at his hands, the adrenalin draining from him very quickly. "I'm... I'm not hungry anymore." Then he stood and quickly walked away.

"Wait, Daisuke!" Miyako reached out to him with a gasp, but she hadn't been fast enough to stop him.

As he made his way over to a log quite a ways away from everyone he figured he'd probably just done something really stupid. He hadn't meant to freak out like that, but he couldn't just sit there and listen to Iori spew such hatred at Ken! Not that he could blame him, he didn't know anything. _No one_ did other than him. Hell not even _Ken _knew anything about himself anymore!

Should he tell them? He'd tried a few times other than today, during lunch with Hikari and Takeru, or at other various opportunities he'd found himself presented with. But every time his voice had caught in his throat and wouldn't come out just like a few minutes ago. He had already tried to figure out why that was so, but nothing made sense. All he knew for sure was that he felt scared when he tried. But why would he feel that way? What was he afraid of?

He supposed it was the spore he was nervous about more than anything else. After the way it had electrocuted Ken and nearly killed him right in front of his eyes like that... it had been so close to just ending everything! What if he told the others and they insisted on trying to remove it again? Or what if Koushiro wanted to examine it or something? Would it retaliate when tampered with now that it was functioning normally? He really didn't know what it would do.

Why the hell hadn't he asked Andromon about that before? Really... nothing useful ever occurred to him until after it was too late to matter anyway.

Daisuke put his forehead in his hands and groaned. Ken's safety meant more to him than anything else right now, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep avoiding him like this. Not with their upcoming battle plans apparently. He had to help the others and he knew that, but the idea of it made his head hurt. Again.

Approaching footsteps made him look up, Hikari apparently having walked over to him while he'd been stressing out into the palms of his hands. She seemed worried, which didn't surprise him. Then she sat down on the log next to him and looked out at the ocean. Daisuke looked out too but didn't find any comfort in it. Normally the crashing waves upon the sand soothed him, but this time it did nothing.

"So..." Hikari spoke up after a long silence between them. "The others and I promise not to ask about your escape anymore unless you bring it up yourself."

"Ah..." Daisuke sighed and felt really stupid now. "I appreciate it but... that wasn't really the problem."

"Well..." Hikari looked at him with searching eyes. "It's just, you seemed fine until we asked about that so I thought maybe it was too private for you. Well, then again..." she frowned for a moment as a thought seemed to occur to her. "I guess you _first _tensed up when we mentioned attacking the Kaiser..."

Daisuke didn't reply. He couldn't deny her observation, as she was entirely correct, but he didn't want to try and explain his reaction to her either. Ugh, this was all so confusing and difficult to deal with.

Another silence passed between them, this one far more uncomfortable than the previous one had been, and that one hadn't exactly been great either. This would be a perfect chance to tell someone about the spore though. It was just him and Hikari, and she was easily the most understanding of everyone. She would believe him, he knew that without a doubt. But... would she keep it to herself? That he didn't know.

If she told the others about Ken and the spore then they might try to mess with it. Even telling them about the electrocution, they may still try to do something to it. He didn't know for sure what would end up happening in the end, but he _did _know that there'd be an argument about it first. He didn't believe for a second that everyone would agree, and he didn't want to cause drama like that.

He remembered when they had been forced to fight against Greymon after Ken had enslaved him. That had nearly been a disaster... other than Yamato and Takeru, no one had known what to do and they'd all just ended up fighting because of it. Even Taichi hadn't been willing to fight his partner at first, and had to get punched by Yamato to see the harsh reality of their situation. Hikari, Miyako and Iori had all just been confused and unsure, and even he himself had resisted for a while. Ultimately he'd realized that sometimes life put you in situations where there were no ideal choices to make, but that didn't mean everyone else would feel that way. He really didn't know much about the other older Chosen either, or what they would end up wanting to do.

Most likely some of them would try to help Ken with the spore while others would just want to fight. And even if he convinced them not to tamper with the spore, if they did something to help Ken overpower it and it figured out what they were doing... who knew what might happen. Or what if they all became unwilling to fight Ken at all? How was he supposed to stop him and get him to wake back up if they couldn't even defeat him in the first place?

So... should he say nothing then and just fight the Kaiser along with the others? Would defeating him actually stop the spore somehow like Ken himself seemed to think? What if all they did was fight and piss Ken off more and more, until the spore just went berserk or something?

Daisuke sighed and put his face back in his hands, regardless of Hikari being right there. He didn't know what to do... he just _didn't know_! Every option could turn out terrible but could also be what saved Ken. How the fuck was he supposed to figure this out?!

"Daisuke..." Hikari put a hand on his shoulder and kept her voice soft. "Don't think about it anymore, you don't have to figure anything out right now. If a good time comes to tell us what happened between you and Ken then you can worry about it at that moment. For today though, let's just go back and have fun at your party, okay?"

Daisuke looked up at her, and when their eyes met he felt a lot of his stress fade away. She was right, he didn't have to make a decision today or even tomorrow. Ken would live a few more days while he figured it out. But for today specifically, he was supposed to be having fun and not getting stressed out. She had already told him that everyone agreed to drop the subject for now, so it should be okay. It would probably be best if he avoided Iori though...

"Alright." He nodded and stood up, waiting for her to rise to her feet as well. Then he gave her a thankful hug before they headed back to the others. All in all Hikari hadn't really said much to him, but somehow her few words had helped immensely. She just had a talent for that he supposed.

Maybe he would tell everyone about the spore and about Ken being good, or maybe he wouldn't... he didn't know what was going to happen yet, and right now he wasn't going to wrack his brain trying to figure it out. He would just do what he did best and go with the flow. If telling them was the best thing to do, then he'd realize it when the time came.

* * *

Author's Note: Up until now everything has taken place between episodes 17 and 18. Starting with the next chapter though I'll be finally moving forward in the timeline. The purpose of this story wasn't to change canon, as much as it was to change the perspective of it. It's nice that Daisuke was such a loyal and friendly person to Ken that he wanted to give him a second chance just because, but I wanted to try a different approach. That does leave me with one major problem though... the canon storyline ends with Kenyako. So my intention is to have the next couple chapters follow along with canon, with the purpose of showing Daisuke's new perspective on things after everything that's happened, and then it will depart from canon. I will be considering the canon departure chapters as an alternate ending, and each chapter title will begin with AE. I don't yet know how long they will be.


	20. Fallen Cruelty

**Drive Me Crazy** Chapter 20: Fallen Cruelty

Author's Note: This chapter's purpose was to smooth over the fall of the Kaiser, taking Daisuke's new viewpoints and developments into consideration. And let me tell you, it was ridiculously fun to re-watch the end of the Kaiser saga with this fanfic in mind! Obviously I had to watch the original with subtitles so that everything matched up, and I also had to find the show online in the first place because I don't have my episode files anymore. It took me a while to realize that it's all on the Funimation and Crunchyroll websites for free, and it's even legal... but anyway, thanks to Ine-Capa for her awesome assistance ^_^

* * *

Daisuke stood at the top of the cliff with a deep cringe etched upon his face, his fists clenching tighter and tighter with every passing second. His glare was locked onto Chimeramon in the distance, who was currently laying waste to a village of Digimon. Their pained and dying screams echoed loudly into the night. There was nothing they could do to help those poor Digimon, and that was the worst part of it. They had to just stand there watching, listening, and knowing that if they attacked they'd just be killed too, and in the mean time hundreds of innocent lives were being taken because of their weakness.

It seemed like Ken had gotten worse since the restoration of the spore. Prior to his capture, Ken had certainly been filled with a seething hatred and murdered countless lives. Yet somehow this felt more extreme. Then again, maybe it was just the guilt over forgetting to tell Ken to have Andromon also erase the Chimeramon project that was making him feel this way. He knew that Ken had simply forgotten as well, because he definitely would have had that ruined too if it had occurred to him. But... it hadn't exactly been an easy moment then...

That didn't erase the guilt though, not even knowing how stressed and desperate, and overall not thinking clearly everyone had been. He'd still forgotten, and therefore to an extent, all of this death and sadness was his fault.

Daisuke still hadn't told anyone about Ken. Every time he'd gotten the chance, he'd seen in his mind the memory of Ken's body shaking violently on the infirmary bed. Immediately after that he'd see images of one or more of the Chosen trying to deactivate it, and Ken being electrocuted to death. His throat always closed up on him after that. The nightmares hadn't helped either...

"Damn... that Chimeramon..." Daisuke seethed out loud to try and think of something else, his fists clenched so hard that he was thankful to be wearing gloves. He remembered the first time he'd seen Chimeramon while he'd been sailing on that strange moving island. He'd gone over to help Iori get the slaves out of the base. However, the moment he saw the horrible abomination of a Digimon fighting in the air above them, he'd felt sick to his stomach. Even now he still felt that way. "How long is he going to keep this up?"

"He's terrifying," Lighdramon replied honestly from beside him.

"He's just attacking for no reason!" Digmon exclaimed, a pained look in his eyes.

"Our Digital World..." Holsmon trailed off with sadness. Daisuke understood and felt the same sadness, both for the Digital World and the Digimon that were being harmed. He also felt sad for Ken, though he wasn't going to say that out loud. This mission and helping the Chosen fight the Kaiser was harder than he'd expected, and he definitely hadn't expected it to be easy.

"Ken won't stop until he has destroyed everything, will he?" Iori's glare toward the base was harsh and filled with hatred. His fists were clenched just as tightly as Daisuke's. At least his cast had been removed right away, his injury not turning out nearly as bad as it had originally seemed.

"No..." Miyako trailed off, sounding sad and afraid at the very thought.

"Unforgivable..." Takeru's fierce words seemed to startle Miyako, though it didn't affect Iori in the slightest. "It's unforgivable that he created that Digimon!"

"We have to stop him somehow," Hikari agreed with him, "with our own hands."

Hikari... it had been strange that not long ago he'd been angry with her. It was a weird feeling that he'd never experienced before. They'd been in the real world discussing ideas on how to defeat Ken. Iori had brought up the problem of what his parents would do if he missed dinner, so Daisuke suggested that he just make up a story. Well, it hadn't gone over too nicely with Hikari. Her disappointment, both in voice and eyes, had startled him when she asked if he'd _'really do something like that.'_ And then Taichi offered that they just say they were going camping but then really go to the Digital World to stop Ken, while Taichi, Koushiro and Yamato actually _did _go camping to keep their alibis up. Hikari had been totally okay with that idea, and that was when Daisuke got pissed off.

How the hell was that idea any different from his own? They were _lying_ and saying that they were doing something that they _weren't_, to instead go and fight Ken. The only difference was that unlike his idea, Taichi's had involved someone _helping_ them lie to their families. Oh, but that was completely okay.

He hadn't stayed angry for long though, because he realized that she hadn't meant to upset him. The two of them just... didn't think the same way at all.

Daisuke looked at the group for a moment as they continued talking, now discussing how they could possibly stop Ken and Chimeramon. He felt a terrible nervousness in his chest, created from all the clashing emotions. The other Chosen's hatred and determination came from facing an opponent that was simply evil to them. There weren't any complicated feelings or considerations about the spore to bring down their resolve. He knew he'd made the correct decision in staying quiet, but that didn't make it any less difficult to hear them saying all those terrible things. It hurt and made him want to scream and throw things.

It was then that Daisuke realized the others had come up with a plan involving a pipeline from the old oil rig they'd gotten trapped in a long time ago. They were going to open a release valve which, according to Koushiro, would shoot high up into the air if turned really far. Koushiro asked Agumon and Gabumon to light the oil on fire, and hopefully start burning the base as it flew overhead. Daisuke made sure to agree as enthusiastically as he could to the plan so that he wouldn't seem to be acting strangely. He didn't want any questions now that Hikari had finally gotten the others to leave him alone.

In fact for that very reason, when their plan worked just as intended and the blazing base rode right by the cliff that they were all perched upon, Daisuke quickly jumped down onto the ledge that was sticking out of the side of the base.

"I'm the first!" he called out, genuinely excited while also trying to get the others to hurry up after him. They didn't have time. They had to hurry and get to Ken...

Daisuke glared ahead with determination and went in. The others caught up to him quickly and then they all proceeded into the base as a group. Now, there were many things about the time he'd spent under the influence of the Bio Ring that had become fuzzy and unclear since its removal, but this passageway and where it lead remained perfectly intact.

"It's the next entrance," he informed the group, knowing exactly where they were going. They would walk through this rocky tunnel for a bit and then come out into a large docking room. Inside it would be a door leading to the many hallways of the base. From there he'd be able to find an elevator to the Control Room and-

"W-What the...?!" Daisuke cut his own thoughts off when they entered the docking room. The door that lead into the hallway was still there, but most of the wall next to it was gone! A massive square hole was left in its place, which showed through into the generator room on the other side. It was like someone had cut a large chunk out of the wall.

He and Miyako walked right up to the edge of the opening and looked up into the generator room, the large pipe that connected power all throughout the base ascending so high that it went out of sight. The same was true looking down. At least this was exactly as he recalled, though it was certainly more lit up than he remembered when he'd been hung over it as punishment before. The walkways from the rest of the base to this central power pipeline remained there as well, making it possible to get into the power room where the strange black power supply was that he'd touched before. However, they weren't able to get onto one of those walkways from here.

Takeru spotted the power room immediately. Daisuke quickly agreed and let the group know that if they went there then they could stop the whole base. So they quickly turned toward the normal doorway that lead out into the base's halls, except that a very large group of Bakemon were already coming in through it.

As expected the fight was pitifully easy, Ken most likely just toying with them. They made it into the halls right away once the fight was over. Daisuke lead them toward another large docking bay, one that he knew could get them onto one of the platforms toward the power room.

Just as they were walking inside, the ceiling burst down upon them. Chimeramon descended into the room slowly, which only made it that much more menacing; like it really wasn't in any kind of a hurry to destroy them. It let out a terrible screech, one that put the hairs on Daisuke's arms at end. Shivers went down his spine at the sight of such a disgusting creature this close up. As if to add insult to injury, another army of Bakemon flew in and hovered next to Chimeramon.

Daisuke felt sick to his stomach all over again, more regret over forgetting to have this terrible thing destroyed filling his mind. He shoved the remorse back as quickly as it came though. He couldn't afford to be weak right now. Too many things were on the line for him to lose focus. He was supposed to be leading the others, after all!

"We were so close to the power room..." Takeru seethed, glaring at Chimeramon.

"Daisuke, get off and hide," Lighdramon spoke suddenly. "Chimeramon's powerful. If we don't combine our powers, it will be impossible."

The other Digimon quickly agreed with Lighdramon, urging their partners to get off and go hide somewhere away from the fight. The others resisted at first, but like Daisuke, they eventually realized that they were right. This was going to get intense, and if they were on their Digimon's backs then they'd probably get really hurt, or worse...

"We're counting on you guys!" Daisuke yelled back behind himself as the group ran for cover behind some boxes along the wall.

Half of the Bakemon attacked first, which were easily put aside. Then the Chosen's Digimon charged Chimeramon together while Digmon recovered his drills. Immediately Chimeramon shot some kind of energy attack at them, blasting straight through some of the remaining Bakemon and destroying them in the process. Lighdramon, Pegasmon, Holsmon and Nefertimon barely avoided the attack and were thrown back, slamming into the walls behind them. The attack hit the ground next to Digmon, who was also thrown back painfully into the boxes on the other side of the room just after he'd managed to get all of his drills put back.

The Chosen gasped, horrified at how quickly their Digimon had been harmed, and by the fact that Chimeramon hadn't even cared whether it attacked its own allies or not.

Their Digimon got back up on their feet and tried again, this time making sure not to get near it. Their attacks flew toward Chimeramon and struck together, an explosion sounding upon impact and smoke rising into the room. Once the smoke cleared though, Chimeramon stood before them completely unharmed. It screeched in anger and threw its head from side to side.

Daisuke's breath caught in his throat as he watched the fight. How the hell could they beat something like this? It was insanely powerful... but there had to be a way somehow!

Chimeramon threw its energy attacks around the room, their Digimon managing to dodge again but just like before, were thrown violently against the walls and boxes by the aftershock. Again and again they were sent flying, their bodies being tossed around the room like dolls. Not one of them was ever able to unleash another attack against it.

Daisuke felt despair fill his heart with each attack that Chimeramon unleashed. A few seconds later, as he'd been dreading, their Digimon all degenerated back down into their Baby forms.

"Chibimon!" Daisuke called out in fear, wanting to rush over to him but knowing that if he did he'd get killed for sure.

Suddenly Chimeramon froze in place like a statue. What... did that mean? Had Ken ordered it to stop? That was the only logical reason for it to have ceased its attack... so did that mean Ken had realized something? That he _remembered_ something?! He had to find him!

Daisuke rushed over with the others to grab their partners before anything else happened to them, the group quickly ducking back behind the boxes when they were all safe. There was a silence amongst them as they all tended to their wounded Digimon, fear and anger filling the space between them.

Ken _had _to have remembered something to order Chimeramon to stop attacking, there was just no other logical explanation. This was a really good sign... they had to keep moving and try to-

"Let's escape." Takeru's words burned Daisuke's ears like fire.

"Escape?!" Daisuke exclaimed loudly, squeezing Chibimon accidentally.

"We can't fight anymore, our mission has failed..." Takeru lamented, staring down at the floor. "We'll retreat and wait for another chance."

When the others all agreed with him, their voices filled with defeat, Daisuke felt an emotion burst from within his chest. He didn't know if it was anger, fear, determination, or maybe all three at once. Whatever it was though, it prevented him from staying quiet.

"No." His single word held finality, as well as a clear refusal to accept any kind of retreat. He didn't know if he was going to be able to explain this to the others so that they would understand... but he couldn't leave now. He _couldn't_! Ken needed him _now_, not tomorrow, not in a week, or a damned month either! "We can't just say _another chance _like that. If we leave now they'll keep attacking anything in sight! We don't know if we'll be able to get into the fortress again, so this is our only chance!"

As he'd expected the others hadn't really understood him, telling him he was crazy, and pointing out that their Digimon were all back at Baby form.

"But... didn't you all see it?" Daisuke's words seethed. "Destroying those towns... and all we could do was watch quietly. I don't want to see that ever again! I won't let them do whatever they want! So I'm going, even alone. I won't give up now. After getting this far, all I can do is go forward!"

Suddenly Chibimon was on his head, "let's go, Daisuke," and his words filled Daisuke's heart with all the support he needed. "If you're going, I'm going too!"

Daisuke didn't wait for the others to reply or to even see the looks on their faces. This was it, and he didn't have time for things like fear. In another situation he might have retreated, but not this one, not when Ken could still possibly be salvaged. So, as quickly as he could, he raced forward and grabbed onto a chain that lead down into the generator room. He'd been hung by this very chain many times before, and he knew for a _fact _that it would get him inches away from that platform just below them.

Well... maybe not inches. Turned out it was more like a foot or two, and his fingers were barely able to grip the edge of the platform as he jumped over to it from the descending chain. His heart raced in his chest as he looked down into the seemingly endless pit, but he managed to pull himself up all the same. Okay... maybe he needed to calm down a _little_ bit...

Before he could make it far, a Digimon had appeared in front of him. Daisuke immediately put his fists up in defense.

"You're..." he trailed off, suddenly recognizing it as Wormmon. Immediately he was angry as the memories of Andromon dragging him out of the base played through his mind. Wormmon... he'd just fucking sat there and done _nothing_! He hadn't ordered any of the guards to stop Andromon, or shot his webbing at his legs, or... something! _Anything _would have been fine! But no, he'd just let him get knocked out and then kicked out.

He'd been sore about it ever since, and he wasn't going to indicate otherwise. "You're the Kaiser's..." He made a point of not saying that Wormmon was Ken's, but that he was the _Kaiser's_ partner.

"This way." Wormmon spoke as though he hadn't been affected by his words. It surprised Daisuke that he would offer help still, after he'd insulted him so obviously. "Hurry, you're looking for the power room, right?"

"Why are you helping us?" Daisuke demanded, not trusting Wormmon anymore. After everything he'd said about wanting Daisuke to save Ken with him... it had all been fake! "You're leading us into a trap, aren't you?"

"No!" Wormmon's angry voice left the redhead surprised again, and he grew silent. "I just want to help Ken-chan! Chimeramon is terrifying... since he brought it to life, I feel like Ken-chan is going to a place where he can't be reached. If we don't defeat Chimeramon now, I'm sure we'll reach a point of no return. _Please_ trust me!"

Daisuke felt his anger subside and the frown on his face relax. He... didn't need to be picking a fight right now. Yes, Wormmon should have helped him, but at the same time there had been so much going on then... He himself had forgotten to have Chimeramon's data erased, so did he really have the right to lash out at Wormmon for having also been too emotionally overcome to think straight? And what was more important right now, holding a grudge or saving Ken?

"Got it." Daisuke said and put his fists down. "I trust you."

"Thank you..." Wormmon's voice was filled with relief. "Come on, this way!"

Daisuke didn't hesitate to follow him anymore, and they made their way quickly to the power room. Immediately they were engulfed in a strange energy that he definitely hadn't felt the last time he'd been in there. Chibimon realized it was coming from the large black object on the pedestal. As they walked toward it, Wormmon explained that its purpose was to power and move the base, since Chibimon didn't know anything about it. Daisuke gave it a strange look.

"Then, if we remove this, the fortress should stop, right?" he asked Wormmon, who didn't seem to know the answer. Daisuke knew it would turn the power off from the last time he'd been there, but at that time the base hadn't been moving. So would this also halt it in its tracks? He hoped so. "But how...?" he felt himself ask out loud.

Well last time he'd been able to just reach forward and grab it, so chances were he could just do that again and it would-

Suddenly the black object on the pedestal was rising up into the air all on its own. Immediately the lights and power shut off around them. There were dim emergency lights still on, but that was it. He felt a jerk as the base stopped. Then, before he could even react, a golden light burst from the black, floating object and filled the space around them. Daisuke cringed and covered his eyes.

"Daisuke, look!" Chibimon pointed to it. Some kind of light purple symbol had lit up on it, and the next thing he knew, Chibimon had evolved into V-Mon.

"You evolved..." confusion filled Daisuke's voice, "but why?"

As if to answer his question, the golden light erupted even more, going so far this time as to dissolve the very walls of the generator room around them. They weren't hurt though, and had only felt warmth as the light passed through their bodies.

Suddenly Daisuke realized exactly what this thing was, as the object's black color slowly turned to gold; it was a Digimental.

It let out a quiet cry, one that he recognized from before. As it landed in his hands, the same words and pleading from before filled his mind as it tried to communicate. This time it was much easier to understand though, and he realized that this Digimental wanted him to use it.

The power it radiated was beyond anything the other Digimentals were capable of. It filled him with strength, hope and determination. They... they could fight Chimeramon with this for sure! They could _win_! He knew it without a shred of a doubt now!

"Digimental Up!" Daisuke cried out, and both the Digimental in his hand and V-Mon's body glowed with a bright golden light. Both of them disappeared, and before him stood a new Digimon; a large blue dragon man with golden armor that shone as bright as the sun.

"Radiance of Miracles, Magnamon!" called out Magnamon. Miracles... that wasn't a crest he knew of, but there was no time for that! He needed to-

"How many times are you all going to get in my way?!" Ken's furious voice echoed throughout the generator pit and the space where the power room had once been.

"Digimon Kaiser!" Daisuke whipped around and looked him straight in the eyes, his heart pounding furiously against his chest. "It's time to settle this!"

Ken clearly wanted a fight, and it looked like there was no choice anymore. The sharp hatred in his voice just now... his Ken, the one he'd saved, was not there. This was the pure and evil spore-induced Kaiser in all his spiteful glory. The glare that he'd given him, filled with nothing but a limitless loathing, only confirmed that further. As of right now his Ken was gone, and he had to fight as though that wasn't going to change. If anything, for the sake of all the innocent Digimon that kept dying in this war.

The base suddenly shook and the walls down at the bottom of the generator pit exploded, burst and crumbled as Chimeramon violently forced its way into the base. When had it even left? Daisuke hadn't seen, as he'd simply gone to the power room and left it with the others in the docking room... what the heck happened? Was everyone okay?

Daisuke felt his body freeze with fear as Chimeramon flew straight at him, their eyes locking. It was going to do everything it could to kill him. He thought to run but before he could even move his body, Magnamon had already flown into him at full speed, grabbed him and moved him out of the way. He'd reacted just in time as Chimeramon's body came bursting through the walkway, effectively destroying it where Daisuke had just been standing.

Magnamon knelt down next to Daisuke, who was sitting on his ass at the only part of the platform that hadn't just crumbled into the depths below, his heart racing against his chest. "Daisuke, leave this to me!" Magnamon stood and glared at Chimeramon.

"Got it!" Daisuke nodded and stood as well, his fists clenching tightly. The memory of Ken's hateful glare came back to his mind. "All this ends today!"

He quickly ran down the remainder of the walkway and out into the hallways. He moved as fast as his legs would carry him away from the vicious battle between Magnamon and Chimeramon. After he'd ran quite a distance, he heard footsteps up ahead of him. Another second or two passed, and he spotted the other Chosen up ahead of him running in the same direction.

"Guys!" Daisuke called out, the others all stopping and turning around. He was about to wave when Chimeramon's elbow burst its way into the hallway just behind him. He gasped and ducked his head, stumbling forward. There was no time for words or questions, so they simply ran faster. They made it further and further up the winding stairs, until a voice was heard echoing down from above them.

"Shut up!" Ken's harsh words were followed by the sound of a whip. "This is a game, and the ultimate winner will be me!"

"You're still saying that?!" Daisuke hollered, and Ken turned to face him. A smug grin spread across his face at the sight of them all together, Wormmon whipped and shivering at his feet.

"The Chimeramon I created will never lose to you." Ken's words were full of boasting and pride, and it was sickening to hear. He knew that his Ken was deep down in there somewhere, but right now it was so hard to see him.

"It's not the time to be talking about winning or losing a game!" Daisuke took a step forward, desperate to get through to him. He had to think of something to say, something to do...! Ken was there beneath that _fucking_ spore!

Suddenly the others began speaking up, and Daisuke watched Ken's face with determination as they tried their best to get through to him as well. Ken's face got angrier and angrier as their words pierced him, but that wasn't the emotion that Daisuke was looking for. It wasn't until Takeru spoke that he saw it; a flinch in his eyes.

"Look at these Digimon!" Takeru demanded furiously at the Kaiser, motioning toward all of their partners nearby. "Digimon have souls too! They're alive! They're our most important, irreplaceable partners!"

Ken seemed to shake with something deep inside and Daisuke knew they were close to reaching him. He was there, he was almost there! It was the Digimon being alive, just as Ken had said lying on the hospital bed before... that's what was going to save him, confronting _that_.

Daisuke stared at Ken's face with the determination of the world as Hikari asked him whether Wormmon was his Digimon partner. Ken turned to look at him, shaking even more at the question. He looked down at Wormmon, though his back was turned so Daisuke couldn't see his face.

"My suitable Digimon is..." Ken's words were quiet and uneven, and Daisuke felt his breath catch in his throat. Did they do it? Had Ken seen that Wormmon was-?! "CHIMERAMON!"

Daisuke's heart dropped down into his stomach as Ken's shout echoed up and down the stairs. He wanted to fall to his knees and cry, scream, tackle the other boy and fucking _punch _some sense into him instead! Except that the base once again rocked violently as Chimeramon began blasting every which way with its attacks. Everyone gasped, even Ken, as they tried to stay on their feet.

"It's the end of this fortress..." Ken lamented angrily as everyone knelt down to try and keep their balance, a horrible explosion having sounded from below them and a loud alarm going off all around the base now. "Stay here if you want to die!"

Suddenly Ken ran quickly away from them, further up the stairs and down the hallway. Daisuke gasped and forced himself to stand upright.

"Wait, Digimon Kaiser!" Daisuke hollered after him, but Ken didn't react at all or stop running, so he screamed at the top of his lungs the only other thing he could; "_Ichijouji Ken_!"

Ken still didn't stop, and Daisuke was about to follow after him when the explosions from below boomed once again, this time making their way quickly up the generator pit and toward them. They literally had seconds left before they were all caught in the explosion. Whatever happened between Chimeramon and Magnamon down there had clearly not gone as planned...

Their partners evolved as fast as they could and Digmon blasted through the wall. Daisuke climbed onto Pegasmon with Takeru, Hikari and Miyako flew out on their partner's backs, and Digmon jumped out with Iori and landed firmly on the ground below. Daisuke turned around to look at the base as they flew, which was now falling quickly toward the ground in a spray of fire. He felt himself whisper Ken's name again, desperately trying to find where he was at. He had to have gotten out...

The base hit the ground, sand exploding from all around it and smoke rising into the air as it sat halfway into the ground below. It's destruction was doubtless now. Daisuke felt desperation fill his chest as they landed on the ground together and caught up with Digmon. Where was Ken?!

Daisuke's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden scream in the air above them.

"Extreme Jihad!" Light burst from Magnamon's body like a shock wave, which seemed to do very little to Chimeramon. Magnamon was shaking with weakness up above them. He slumped over for just a moment, and that was all it took for Chimeramon to grasp him firmly in one of his SkullGreymon arms.

"Shit!" Magnamon cursed, his voice filling Daisuke's ears, who clenched his fists tightly and cringed. When Magnamon's pained screams filled the area around them, Daisuke clenched his eyes shut. No, no, no, it couldn't end like this! He couldn't lose Ken _and _V-Mon! He had to do something... a plan or... maybe they could.. but no, that... if...

Daisuke looked up at Magnamon, who was wiggling desperately in Chimeramon's grasp. It was going to crush his body... he was going to die, and Daisuke would never see his partner again... and then Chimeramon would turn on the rest of them and... Daisuke felt weak and lightheaded. If he couldn't think of an idea fast, then-

Movement caught his eye, and when he realized what it was, his heart raced with joy while a nervous adrenalin filled his body. Ken was falling from a Devidramon not too far away, landing with a thud in the sand. Now only Wormmon remained on its back, and was directing the Devidramon straight at Chimeramon. Daisuke gasped as it slammed into Chimeramon's body, who's grip released enough on Magnamon that he was able to fly away.

"Wormmon, you..." Magnamon seemed surprised at Wormmon's help, and at the sudden betrayal of his master. Daisuke was surprised as well, but overwhelmingly glad to see Wormmon finally have the bravery to directly stand up to Ken.

"Save Ken-chan..." Wormmon's grieving voice was hard to hear from down below, but Daisuke caught it nonetheless. Chimeramon lashed out at the Devidramon and punched Wormmon with its massive SkullGreymon fist, who was sent flying through the air.

"Wormmon!" both Magnamon and Daisuke gasped. Wormmon glowed with a bright light as he fell, shooting it at Magnamon. For a moment Daisuke was confused about what had happened, but within seconds he realized what Wormmon had done; he'd given him the last of his power.

In another explosion of brilliant light, Magnamon screamed out his 'Extreme Jihad' attack. The amount of power he had this time was overwhelming, and Chimeramon's data burst and dissolved into tiny particles as its body was destroyed.

Takeru, Hikari, Miyako and Iori all leapt into the air and screamed with happiness behind Daisuke, along with their partners, all throwing themselves into a group hug. He did not celebrate with them though. Instead he rushed toward his own partner, who was quickly plummeting to the ground below and degenerating along the way.

"Are you okay?!" Daisuke panted as he threw himself down onto the sand near Chibimon, taking him up into his arms. Chibimon opened his eyes and smiled up at Daisuke with a weak chuckle. "Chibimon..." Daisuke breathed, clutching him tightly against his chest.

He took slow, steady breaths to try and calm down. They did it! Chibimon was okay and they beat Chimeramon! And Ken... Ken was alive! He was-!

Before he could get up, a tiny object on the ground caught his eyes. Picking it up, he saw that it looked like a crest with the same light purple symbol on it that had been on the Digimental he'd used. He stared at it, no idea what to make of it. But there wasn't time for any of that, so he simply clutched his fingers around it and then rushed over to the other Chosen, Chibimon still held firmly in his arms.

Once he'd reached everyone they ran to where they had seen Ken fall as quickly as they could. He had to be there, he couldn't have gone far even if he'd tried to run away. And sure enough, as they reached their destination, they found the Kaiser hunched over in the sand.

"I... lost..." came his words between gasps of breath. " Why? Everything was supposed to be perfect..." Ken's fist slammed down into the sand below. "This... this is the worst... the worst bad ending of all..."

Daisuke felt his arms shake a bit, hearing Ken talk like that. It was just like before when he had been dying in the infirmary... he'd been so weak that he couldn't say full sentences, and had been forced to take gasps of breath between a few words. He knew this wasn't the same situation and that Ken wasn't dying like that, but it made his heart clench in his chest all the same.

"If that's the case... I'll start everything over... I'll reset the Digital World..." continued Ken, and Daisuke was at a loss on what to do or say. He wanted to reach down and hold him like he used to do, or grab his shoulders and shout sense into him. But he couldn't do any of that right now. How would it look for him to throw his arms around their enemy to his allies? He didn't need them once again thinking that the Bio Ring had a hold over his mind, now that he'd finally gotten them to believe otherwise. And more importantly... Ken didn't appear to remember a bit about him anymore anyway. This... this wasn't that same Ken, no matter how much he wanted it to be...

"Reset the Digital World?" Takeru questioned Ken in a disbelieving tone of voice, clearly unable to believe what he had just heard. Daisuke was glad that someone else had spoken, because right now he wasn't sure if he could manage to get anything out of his mouth.

"I mean..." Ken answered in a quieter voice that was filled with desperation, and Daisuke had to hold his legs back from moving on their own. He sounded less like the Kaiser and a bit more like Ken now. Not enough that anyone else would notice, but he did. "I'll go home, erase all the data in my computer... and then... and then I'll start all over again."

Wait... on top of the fact that he thought Digimon weren't real, he thought the Digital World's data was... inside of his computer in the real world...? Daisuke finally let himself take a step forward, unable to stay quiet any longer.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in as level a voice as he could manage. He was about to continue when Miyako managed to get her words out easier. Probably for the best anyway, as his arms were shaking again...

"Are you serious?" asked Miyako incredulously. "You think you can reset the Digital World by deleting some data in a computer?"

"You're insane!" Takeru declared. "What do you think the Digital World is?"

"What?" Ken asked quietly, and Daisuke focused all of his attention on him for any indicators once again. Takeru had a way of getting through to Ken, because he knew the right words to say. Daisuke had a harder time of it and right now he was overwhelmingly thankful to have everyone else there to help him. He could tell from the way Ken's shoulder had twitched that Takeru had just struck another chord in him.

"This is not a game." Iori's words were harsh and blunt, filled with anger and hatred. "You _can't _reset the Digital World."

"What did you say?!" Ken whipped around suddenly and stared around at all of them, Daisuke clutching Chibimon a bit harder in his arms. His partner didn't seem to mind though.

Ken seemed to remember something in that moment, from the way his eyes suddenly widened, "That time... at the soccer field... it was you Digimon?"

The soccer field? Did he mean when they'd played against each other before? Had Ken thought they were only holding stuffed animals at the time or something? It would make sense, as that's what they'd always passed their Digimon off as being in the real world. Daisuke didn't even know that he had seen their partners at that time.

"We're not just data inside a computer," Chibimon said as Daisuke continued to focus on Ken's face. He was looking right at Chibimon now, really listening. Ken was finally listening...

"Digimon are just like us." Daisuke chose his words carefully, trying to hit on the fact that they were real again. It wasn't that the other things didn't matter, or that it didn't help to tell Ken, but he knew what his biggest problem was. This was what he needed to hear the most... "We're all the same, _alive_."

Ken looked horrified by his words, "Digimon are... living beings?" His question came out sounding like it pained him just to ask, or as though he didn't really want to hear the answer. But he'd asked, so there was clearly a part of him that knew he needed to confront this now. "Then..." Ken's arms began to shake. "What I've been doing..." And then his arms rose and his hands clutched at his hair. "I... what... have I done?!"

Daisuke wanted to feel happy and to start cheering, but he couldn't, not while seeing Ken like this. It wrenched at him, tore him up inside and spat him back out. Once again it was taking all of his strength to not just run forward and wrap his arms around him.

"The Digital World isn't a dream or a fantasy world," Takeru continued.

"It's like our world, just another part of reality," and Hikari finished.

Suddenly Ken screamed and writhed on the ground. Daisuke clenched his fists the hardest he'd ever done and shut his eyes. His fingers hurt from how hard he was pressing down on them, and his eyelids were starting to feel wet. When he opened his eyes again the Kaiser suit around Ken's body was exploding and dissolving into digital particles. Daisuke knew he was squeezing down too tightly on Chibimon now and released some of his grip.

Ken gasped for breath nearby, and Daisuke felt fear fill his chest. The spore... what if it was attacking him again somehow? What if he was going to die and he didn't even have the shocker this time?! He-!

Daisuke was about to give in and rush over to Ken when Chibimon spoke with sadness, "Wormmon..."

Daisuke and the others looked down at where Chibimon had indicated. Wormmon wasn't far away from them, and they quickly rushed over to his body in the sand. He was still breathing, but it seemed to be taking all of his strength to do so.

Ken slowly walked over to them, his hair straight and a mess about his face. His clothes were now the grey uniform that he wore from school, and the black shoes that went with it.

"You're back to the old Ken-chan..." Wormmon said weakly from the ground.

"Old?" Ken questioned just as weakly, and Daisuke only felt more afraid by it. He looked ill and pale, and his voice was so quiet... just like that time...

"That suits you better." Wormmon seemed to smile a bit.

"The old Ken?" Daisuke questioned out loud. Ken... was this his Ken from before? The one he'd saved and brought out from under the spore. Or was it a different one? Had Wormmon meant the Ken from before he'd ever even been the Kaiser in the first place, perhaps? More importantly, would he be the same kind and gentle person that he'd been before, or after everything he'd done, would he end up cold and closed off now? He wanted Ken to be kind and happy... he didn't want a different Ken...

Suddenly the crest in his hand began to glow, as though it had heard his thoughts. To be honest, he'd completely forgotten he was even holding it anymore. Slowly it rose into the air and flew over to Ken, hovering near him. Ken stared at it with very little energy. He seemed to want to know what it was too, but didn't have the strength to ask questions.

"In the power room, I heard a voice from that crest," explained Daisuke. "It said it wanted to go back to its true owner." At the time he'd heard the crest speak, the first time while he was Ken's prisoner, he hadn't understood what it meant. He still wasn't entirely sure what it was talking about, but he had a better idea this time than before.

"It's true owner...?" Ken questioned quietly as the crest fell into his open hands.

"That's Ken-chan's..." Wormmon said, cringing with pain immediately afterward, "Crest of Kindness..."

"This is my... Crest of Kindness?" Ken asked, not seeming to understand. Of course he wouldn't, after everything he'd done. From his perspective he probably couldn't see how he could possibly have a crest like kindness, but Daisuke knew... he knew very well why he'd been given that one.

"Kindness will release the golden light..." Tailmon said suddenly. "That must be what Wizarmon was talking about!"

"Because... Ken-chan is kind..." Wormmon panted and gasped, trying to speak. Daisuke felt tears tugging at his eyes. Everything about this was too similar to what had happened before, only this time Wormmon was the one weak and dying, and there was nothing he could do to help him. He had even less ability to do something about this than the last time he'd faced this situation.

Ken's knees weakened and he slumped down to the ground to scoop up his poor partner. "Wormmon... were you... always this light?" Ken asked his Digimon sadly.

Wormmon's answer was even quieter than Ken's had been, and was barely audible. But Daisuke caught it all the same, and with his words came the stream of tears from his eyes. "Goodbye... Ken... chan..." Wormmon's body disintegrated and the particles flew up into the air, and then he was gone, Ken's arms now empty.

Daisuke's entire body shook and he clutched tightly at Chibimon again, taking in difficult breaths. He couldn't speak or even move for fear of completely breaking down, just as he'd done before when his friends had found him on that plateau, just after Ken had lost his memories...

"He's dead..." Takeru's words were harsh, and Daisuke knew that he'd simply felt that Ken needed to know that this was a direct consequence of his terrible actions. All the same... had it really been necessary? Wasn't this already hard enough for Ken?

"Dead...?" Ken breathed and then gasped. "Dead?!" He stared forward at the ground, empty and defeated in every possible way.

Choked sobs came from Ken suddenly, and he sunk down onto his hands and knees and cried. "It wasn't supposed to be like this..." a sharp gasp was taken into his lungs as he tried to continue speaking, "I didn't come here to relive this feeling..."

Daisuke felt hollow and worthless, unable to help someone he cared so deeply for as he cried on the ground before him. First Ken's brother had died, and while he still didn't know all the details about that, he'd been told enough by Wormmon to know how much this was going to affect him... this wasn't his first death, and in a sense it was even worse this time. He'd actually been holding Wormmon in his arms when he died, and the only reason it happened at all was because of Chimeramon; something he created.

Which in a sense, didn't that make it partially Daisuke's fault again? Why hadn't he thought of Chimeramon then... if he had, then things would be different now. He'd be-

Still fighting Ken... that's what he'd be doing. Ken wouldn't have made Chimeramon, they wouldn't have had to act so desperately, and overall nothing would have changed. Not that he was happy Wormmon had died because of it. He wasn't, and if he could go back and undo this somehow he would. But... but he also didn't want to go back and still be fighting Ken, either...

It occurred to him suddenly that the things he'd done in the Kaiser's base hadn't all been for nothing. He'd been feeling that way ever since he was thrown out of the base by Andromon. He'd felt like every single thing he'd experienced with Ken had been pointless, and could have just as easily never happened for all the world cared. But right now, in this moment, he realized that wasn't true.

Compared to before, Ken had accepted that Digimon were real much easier today. How many times had they said to him that Digimon weren't toys to play with, that they had souls, and that this wasn't all a game? But for some reason it had gotten through to him this time, and Daisuke knew that it was because of their time together. Even though the spore had erased his memories, they were still there, buried deep down somewhere.

If these memories of Digimon being real could be dug out, then could the others too?

Suddenly an image of Ken's parents on the television flashed through his mind, Mrs. Ichijouji crying and her husband talking to the reporter with a grieving face.

"You should go home," Daisuke spoke softly down at Ken, who rose to shaking feet, still crying, and began walking away. "There are people who are worried and waiting for you!" Daisuke called after him, knowing that right now, out of everything else, what Ken needed the most was to be with his family. "_Go home_!"

Everyone watched as Ken slowly walked away, weak and emotionally ruined. His steps were forced and his legs seemed as though they could barely support his weight.

_'Ken...'_ Daisuke thought to himself before the boy had walked out of sight, his arms still shaking a bit around Chibimon's body. _'Be with your parents for now, so you can rest and recover. I can't be with you right now, but I will be soon. Someway, somehow, I'll help you fix all of this.'_


End file.
